Education Overview
The Education Centre at RSCH is found opposite the West Wing entrance (Physiotherapy Department).
This is home to the Medical Education Team and hosts our group teaching sessions. On the first floor you will find the GP Manager, Donna Stevens.
This multi–disciplinary education facility has a lecture theatre and conference rooms and also accommodates the Library, Learning Resource Centre and Information Service which is open to all primary and acute staff working in South West Surrey. We also advocate health and well-being and have a dedicated staff wellbeing cabin.
Recording your attendance
You must sign in to all educational sessions (please see our teaching attendance policy below).
Where you are unable to sign a paper register (e.g. you are on leave, you are undertaking an alternative activity, the session is online) you must complete the online declaration:
Link to Teaching Absence Declaration
Calendar
ST1 and ST2 Teaching
When? (from September 2026) first, second, and third Thursday of the month 12:30-2:00pm
Where? Room B1, Education Centre
What? See the example Clinical Update timetable by clicking the green button below
This is bleep-free protected time and all trainees are expected to attend. In hospital posts, it has been agreed at faculty level that a colleague/senior will hold your bleep, even if this is the Consultant.
Until 2027 – Thursdays are the key educational day throughout GP training. In ST1 and ST2 trainees will have Integrated Training Posts (ITP) which are spent part-time in General Practice and part-time in a Hospital Specialty. During these rotations, there will be group teaching at the Education Centre led by each trainee in turn.
The format for each session is for trainees at one practice to work together to present a topic from the GP Curriculum, with an emphasis on an interactive discussion rooted in Primary Care.
There are also termly whole group teaching for ST1s and ST2s, for which study leave will need to be applied. These take place on certain Thursday mornings on a range of topics.
ST3 Teaching
When? (from September 2026) first, second, and third Thursday of the month 9am-12noon
Where? Room B1, Education Centre
What? See the example HDR timetable by clicking the green button below
The Half Day Release (HDR) helps trainees to develop the key skills essential for General Practice, but also provides a nurturing environment for trainees to support one another and learn from each other as the year progresses.
The Half Day Release programme is an essential and valuable part of the ST3 year. On the course we aim to help ST3s develop the core skills and knowledge base that form the GP Curriculum. We also help the Registrars to prepare for all aspects of the MRCGP examination and to make best use of the ePortfolio. See the HDR timetable by clicking on the green button below.
The course runs for 30 weeks of the year and dovetails with the Thursday lunchtime lectures and independent learning, usually in small study groups. A typical day of face-to-face teaching would be as follows:
09:00 – Coffee for a prompt start at 09:30
09:30 – 12:00 HDR course
12:30 – 14:00 GP Clinical Update
14:00 – 17:00 Independent Learning / Study
The course is mandatory, and comprises half of the annual study leave requirement of 30 days for the ST3 year (counting as 30 half days). You are encouraged not to take annual leave or study leave during the course, as educational days missed during leave should comprise less than 20% of the course.
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ST3 HDR 2024Virtual GP School
Starting September 2026 the new “Virtual GP School” mandatory teaching sessions for all KSS trainees will now take place on the last Wednesday of the month.
To ensure high-quality teaching across KSS, these monthly virtual sessions are 09:00-13:00 and will replace our locally organised Thursday ST3 HDR, ST1/2 ITP and clinical update that week.
As Wednesdays are not our usual VTS day in Guildford, you will need to apply for study leave or arrange a Wednesday/Thursday swap with your practice to attend these sessions. Although attendance is mandatory, there will be some flexibility during this implementation phase, particularly if Wednesday is your non-working day.
There will soon be official deanery information regarding these sessions. However, in case it helps with planning, we have been informed of the below sessions, which for 2026 will be in place of Thurs 1st October, Thurs 29th October, Thurs 19th November, and Thurs 17th December.
Our local HDR/ITP/CU sessions will continue on Thursdays outside these weeks until the end of the 2026.
| Wednesday 30th September 2026 | Welcome to GP training and the Virtual GP school introductory session. All years introduction and welcome to the GP school then split sessions for the ST1/ ST2/ ST3 year groups for year group specific content. An introduction to the GP portfolio, workplace based assessments, exams, the RCGP curriculum, reflection, ARCP requirements and the resources available within the GP school for the trainees. |
| Wednesday 28th October 2026 | ST1/ ST2 session on ‘The Art of Reflection’ST3 SCA morninG |
| Wednesday 18th November 2026 | ST1/ST2 session on ‘Culture within Medicine and General Practice’ST3 session on ‘Managing Risk and Uncertainty‘ |
| Wednesday 16th December 2026 | All years session on ‘Population Health, Health Inequalities and Health Promotion including Lifestyle Medicine'(for wider VTS planning this aims to include curriculum coverage on obesity/ gambling/ healthy eating/ substances misuse/ smoking/ drugs and alcohol) |
| Wednesday 27th January 2027 | ST1/ST2 session on ‘Communication and Linguistics’ST3 session on ‘Thriving at Work: Wellbeing, Burnout and Managing Stress’ |
| Wednesday 24th February 2027 | All years session on ‘Death and Palliative care in General Practice'(for wider VTS planning this aims to also cover the role of the medical examiner and coroner) |
| Wednesday 31st March 2027 | ST1/ST2 session on ‘Artificial Intelligence in General Practice and Medicine’ST3 session on ‘Neurodiversity’ |
| Wednesday 28th April 2027 | TBC |
| Wednesday 26th May 2027 | TBC |
| Wednesday 30th June 2027 | TBC |
| Wednesday 28th July 2027 | TBC |
Looking ahead, we expect to move to a weekly Wednesday teaching day in 2027 to align with KSS. Attending these virtual sessions is a great opportunity for your training, and during this implementation throughout 2026 you can attend virtually from home.
We appreciate that changes can be challenging. However, we hope this offers a valuable opportunity for all trainees to engage in high quality sessions with experienced and respected speakers.
Your role as a learner / Our Teaching Attendance Policy
The Modernisation of Medical Careers model of training adopts an adult learning approach. You are responsible for your own learning within the programme with the support of key people such as the GPST faculty, educational and clinical supervisors. You should ensure that you have regular meetings with your supervisors, that you maintain your ePortfolio, keep up to date with assessments as required and be signed off.
Thursdays at Guildford and the Wednesday GP virtual school dates are the key educational days. The programme runs during term time but trainees are reminded that when these events are not being held it is the responsibility of the trainee to undertake an educational activity.
This is a contractual obligation and it is paid time.
- Your educational time is protected time and you are expected to be released from clinical duties to attend. Please raise this as a concern if this is not happening.
- The educational sessions run during term time. When these events are not being held it is the responsibility of the trainee to undertake an educational activity.
- If you are unable to organise an educational activity you must arrange a supervised clinic at your training practice. It is felt that this is the next best thing as it provides opportunities for WPBA or reflections.
- You must sign in to all educational sessions. You will need to sign in twice if attending both the HDR and clinical update programme. If you have not signed in this will be considered non-attendance.
- The register for the HDR session will be removed at 9.30am.
- We expect everyone to arrive on time for the beginning of the session. The sign in register will be removed when the session starts.
- If you are unable to attend an educational session you must complete the absence form here.
- Educational time is enshrined in your contract and it is time for which you are paid. The trust reserves the right to request wages are returned or unpaid time is worked if it is not undertaken. Therefore, we need to approach unauthorised absences as a probity and professionalism issue and will take the steps below.
- If missed must be taken as annual leave
10. Our teaching sessions are predominantly held in person. On occaisions where the teaching is delivered online (e.g. GP virtual school, days where we have a lack of room availability at the Post grad centre, or particular speakers/events as timetabled), attendees are expected to have their camera on at all times. If your webcam is not functioning you are advised to log in from another device or purchase an external camera. If you are unable to have your camera on for the duration of teaching you will be ejected from the session and this will be counted as non-attendance.
Some suggestions for what to do in your educational time:
- Completing QIP/QIA work (this must be in the practice)
- Peer led learning group or Balint group (A room at the education centre will always be made available for this)
- Working on your prescribing assessment (this must be in the practice)
- Shadowing other members of the team (nurses, physio, HCA, social prescriber)
- Shadowing other professionals outside of the practice (high street pharmacist, undertakers, social workers)
- Shadowing hospital outpatient clinics.
- Shadowing GP with extended role clinics such as community gynaecology clinics, community dermatology clinics, joint injection clinics and minor surgery lists.
- Joint surgery or activity to undertake WPBA
Unauthorised absence policy:
2 sessions missed – an email will be sent to the trainee, clinical and/or educational supervisor and you will be asked to account for the absences.
3 sessions missed – the trainee will be asked to attend a face to face meeting, the outcome will be recorded as an educator note, visible to the ARCP panel. In order to monitor educational time going forward, the trainee may be asked to record a brief learning log for subsequent Thursday educational sessions.
4 sessions missed – the trainee will be referred to head of school and trust HR protocols.
GMC Professional Standards