Information for Foundation Supervisors

Foundation trainees experience two kinds of supervision that may be provided by the same or different supervisors.

The Educational Supervisor is the doctor responsible for making sure that the foundation trainee receives appropriate training and experience and who decides whether individual placements have been completed. He/she is responsible for identifying individual trainees’ learning needs and setting their educational objectives at the start of each post, reviewing them at the end completing an Educational Supervisor end of post report and end of placement report. While the Foundation Programme learning is trainee-led, progress within and continuity between placements is achieved through a formal process of meetings and reviews with the Educational Supervisor. The Educational Supervisor is responsible for ensuring that the trainees under their supervision maintain appropriate records of assessments and for liaising with the Trust Programme Directors regarding the performance of their trainees.

The Clinical Supervisor is the professional nominated as being responsible for ensuring that a trainee has an appropriate induction to the post, overseeing that trainee’s work and training and for completing the Clinical Supervisor’s report at the end of a 4 month post. They have overall responsibility for the teaching and supervision of their identified foundation trainee in each specific placement although the day-to-day supervision of that trainee may be delegated to others. He/she ensures that the trainee receives clinical supervision appropriate to their competence and experience and that they have suitable opportunities to meet the agreed learning objectives. The Clinical Supervisor should liaise with the Educational Supervisor regarding any concerns they have about the trainee’s performance.

Typically in the South West, foundation trainees experience a series of 4 month placements in different specialties. They tend to keep the same educational supervisor for a whole year but their clinical supervisor changes with each placement.

F2 GP Clinical Supervisors 

GPs wishing to develop their educational career as a F2 GP Clinical Supervisor must have MRCGP (or equivalent) and complete the Prospective Educational Supervisors Course (or equivalent). New supervisors must be at least 18 months post-CCT, and have worked in the practice for a minimum of 12 months, not necessarily as a GP Partner. For further information and to request becoming an F2 GP Clinical Supervisor please contact the team

The following guide has been produced to assist supervisors in GP and contains a wide variety of information including guidance on induction, timetable, and assessments:

F2s in GP - Guide for supervisors 

Training requirements for supervisors 

Each supervisor is required to undergo some specific training and more information can be found on the training pages

In association with the trusts across the Peninsula, we have produced a help sheet for Educational and Clinical Supervisors and this can be accessed below. The document outlines your responsibilities and provides some advice on what you need to do and when. We have also produced a similar sheet for trainees which is also available below.

Educational Supervisors Help sheet

Clinical Supervisors Help sheet

Foundation Trainee Supervision Help sheet

In order to help ensure trainees in Trusts receive equal treatment in respect of Study Leave, a Study Leave Policy for Foundation Trainees has been developed and can be accessed below:

Study Leave policy

Should Foundation Doctors feel they need additional support, for example, because of problems in their personal life, health or performance as a doctor, a help sheet has been produced to offer guidance for anyone experiencing difficulties and to help point them to where they can find help. A copy of this document is accessible below:

Doctor in Difficulty Foundation Helpsheet

Trainees and Educational Supervisors can access the Horus online portfolio. There is a guide to the TAB assessment below.

TAB guide

Who can assess Foundation doctors? Please see the following National Guidance 

As part of an initiative to increase the quality of educational supervision, the Foundation School Committee agreed to seek feedback from foundation trainees about their experiences of educational supervision. The report can be found in 'feedback and reports' which details the results of the questionnaire circulated to trainees.