Appeals Policy

Peninsula Foundation School Appeals Policy

Purpose

To set out the procedures that should be followed, if a Foundation Doctor wishes to appeal against a South West Foundation School.

Principles

The process of appeal will be governed by the following guidelines: 

• The appeals policy will be readily accessible and available to all.
• The process of appeal and the procedures followed will be open and transparent, and in accordance with law.
• Those considering appeals will do so in a fair, reasonable and indiscriminate way.
• Appeals will be heard and decided in a reasonable time.
• The confidentiality of the Foundation Doctor will be maintained, subject to the requirement for appropriate investigations.

Circumstances Which May Warrant Appeal

A Foundation Doctor will have the right to lodge an appeal against an outcome wherever they are able to demonstrate that the actions of the Foundation School[1] have not followed procedure. This could be (but is not exclusively) in the case of:

• Personal Circumstances Applications
• Time Out of Foundation Programme requests

The Foundation Doctor should establish whether they are appealing to the School against the application of the School’s procedures or should be appealing to the Trust against the application of the Trust’s procedures.

PLEASE Note this only applies to processes out with national recruitment, please refer to the UKFPO guidance on Appeals
(For decisions around In Window Inter Foundation School Transfers see UKFPO Guidance)

Process

• In the first instance, the Foundation Doctor should always attempt to resolve their complaint by discussing the case with their Educational Supervisor and Foundation Training Programme Director, where appropriate.
  
  
• Where this is not possible, or where the issue is not resolved to the satisfaction of the Foundation Doctor, the case may then be presented in writing to  Miss Angela Cottrell Foundation School Director for the Peninsula Foundation School or Dr Jess Daniels Foundation School Director for the Severn Foundation School  . This must be done within 7 working days of being notified of the decision/result that is being appealed.
  
  
• The Foundation Doctor will be notified of the decision of the Foundation School Director in writing. The Foundation Doctor will be informed that if they are not satisfied with the decision made, they can request for a final appeal to be heard by the Foundation School Board Appeals Panel. This request must be made in writing to the Postgraduate Deputy Dean, Dr  Clare van Hamel within 7 working days of being notified of the decision of the Foundation School Director. The request must include a full statement of the grounds of appeal and any evidence to support the appeal.

Foundation School Board Appeals Panel

A Foundation School Board Appeals Panel will be convened, where possible within 15 working days of written request for appeal, which consists of the following members: 

• Postgraduate Deputy Dean or representative (Chair)
• Foundation Training Programme Director (not previously involved in the case).
• Lay representative

The Panel members will consider the statement and evidence provided. The Panel will decide whether the Foundation Doctor has demonstrated that procedures have not been followed and that this has had an adverse effect on their training.

The Chairman of the Panel will inform the applicant of the outcome of the appeal within 3 working days.

The decision of the Appeals Panel will be final, and the Foundation Doctor will have no further right to appeal.

Withdrawal of Appeal

Should the Foundation doctor wish to withdraw an appeal, this may be done in writing at any stage of the process.

 

 

[1]  meaning in this context, a decision by personnel in the Foundation School or Trust associated with the Foundation School. This could include Trust Foundation Programme Directors, supervisors and administrative staff associated with the programme

This page was last updated September 11th 2025 (3 months ago)