Information for trainees
Guidance about the STP Final Year Assessment
Trainees who will sit the Final Year Assessment (FYA) in July will receive personalised details in the week beginning 22 June about how they will access the assessment platform that the FYA will be conducted upon.
All trainees who will sit in July should ensure that they have read the guidance about the FYA assessment on the school website and that they have read through the important guidance about how to prepare for the Final Year Assessment.
Trainee advice about preparing for the STP Final Year Assessment
We have recently published guidance which was developed from the shared experiences of trainees who successfully completed the assessment in 2025. The guidance identifies top tips from trainees for before, during and after the assessment.
View trainee top tips for the STP Final Year Assessment
Louis is an STP Audiology graduate who sat the STP FYA in 2025. Louis has provided a personal perspective on the STP FYA as part of our Sharing Good Practice webinar series. Louis shares practical advice and personal reflections on preparing for the STP Final Year Assessment. This presentation covers preparation strategies, wellbeing and advice on completing the FYA from a neurodivergent perspective.
Yeliz is an STP Neurophysiology graduate who sat the STP FYA in 2025. Yeliz has provided a personal perspective on the STP FYA as part of our Sharing Good Practice webinar series. Yeliz shares practical advice and personal reflections on using AI to prepare for the STP Final Year Assessment.
View the recording of Yeliz’s talk ‘Using AI for the STP Final Year Assessment preparation’
Are you interested in supporting the STP Induction 2026?
We are looking for trainee volunteers to represent the STP during our online induction. The event will take place on Microsoft Teams over 2 half-days, Thursday 10 September 2026 and Friday 11 September 2026.
The trainee volunteer roles we have left to fill are university trainee representatives for the following universities:
- Aston University
- Manchester Metropolitan University
- Queen Mary University
- Swansea University
As a university trainee representative, you will be available to answer questions about studying at the university and share any advice or tips for the new trainees that will be attending this year. If you are interested in representing your university, please complete this short survey.
This is a fantastic opportunity for trainees to develop their public speaking skills and support the new intake starting in September.
First year trainees – Are you ready for your first progression review by the school in September 2026?
The school reviews the progress of STP trainees annually.
By the end of September 2026, you should have:
- completed all phase/year 1 rotations on the e-portfolio
- completed an end of year review meeting between trainee and Training Officer that is recorded using the review meeting tool on the e-portfolio between 1 September to 30 September
Hopefully all is going well and you have enjoyed your first year of training so far. To prepare for your review in September you and your Training Officer should make sure you familiarise yourselves with the review of progression process and requirements on the school’s website.
If you do have any issues affecting your progress you or your Training Officer will be able to let us know during the review window by exception via the raising a concern process which will be open to you in early September via email.
Drop-in sessions
We are offering a series of drop-in sessions for trainees and/or their Training Officers to discuss any queries with the school regarding the review of progress. These are open sessions and entirely voluntary in order to offer further support and guidance if needed. There will be no new or additional information presented at the sessions but we will be happy to answer any questions you may have.
View the details of our drop-in sessions
Out of sync trainees
Trainees who are out of sync for any reason, e.g. due to interruptions such as parental leave or other authorised adjustments, will be contacted separately by the school to confirm the review window for their training if this isn’t taking place in September 2026.
Otherwise, if you have any questions or concerns about your progress please do contact the school at england.nshcs@nhs.net and we will be happy to advise you.
Second year trainees – Are you ready for your second progression review by the school in September 2026?
The school reviews the progress of STP trainees annually.
By the end of September 2026, you should have:
- completed all phase/year 1 rotation modules on the e-portfolio
- completed an end of year review meeting between trainee and Training Officer that is recorded using the review meeting tool on the e-portfolio between 1 September to 30 September
- completed 50% of the Professional Foundations of Healthcare and Clinical Science module
- 100% completion of phase 2 Research Skills in Healthcare Science module
- 100% completion of phase 2 specialty modules (route 1) or 60% overall OneFile completion (route 2)
Hopefully all is going well and you have enjoyed your second year of training. To prepare for your review in September you and your Training Officer should make sure you familiarise yourselves with the review of progression process and requirements on the school’s website.
If you do have any issues affecting your progress you or your Training Officer will be able to let us know during the review window by exception via the raising a concern process which will be open to you in early September via email.
Drop-in sessions
We are offering a series of drop-in sessions for trainees and/or their Training Officers to discuss any queries with the school regarding the review of progress. These are open sessions and entirely voluntary in order to offer further support and guidance if needed. There will be no new or additional information presented at the sessions but we will be happy to answer any questions you may have.
View the details of our drop-in sessions
Out of sync trainees
Trainees who are out of sync for any reason, e.g. due to interruptions such as parental leave or other authorised adjustments, will be contacted separately by the school to confirm the review window for their training if this isn’t taking place in September 2026.
Otherwise, if you have any questions or concerns about your progress in the meantime please do contact the school at england.nshcs@nhs.net and we will be happy to advise you.
HCPC student competition – Design a learning session for a chance to win a £300 voucher prize
STP trainees have the opportunity to enter the annual HCPC student competition, with the deadline of Tuesday 1 September 2026. Previous years have seen STP trainees win first place and runner’s up prizes, and the competition gives a great opportunity to represent your profession and specialty and to demonstrate your learning and skills.
Find out more about the HCPC student competition
Using the reflective practice guidance in the Curriculum Library
We recently delivered a webinar to both STP trainers and trainees on using the reflective practice guidance for the STP curriculum.
Watch the recording of the webinar about using the reflective practice guidance
Information for Training Officers
STP Induction 2026
We will be holding the 2026 Scientist Training Programme Induction online via Microsoft Teams. It will be held over 2 half-days:
- Day 1 – ‘Becoming a Clinical Scientist’ will take place on Thursday 10 September
- Day 2 – ‘Managing your programme’ will take place on Friday 11 September
On both days the events will start at 9:30am and approximately finish at 1:15pm.
Trainees joining the STP in September will need to attend this key event as part of their induction to the training programme and will be invited once interviews have been completed and posts filled.
Are you interested in exploring the Training Officer role further?
We have recently held a number of webinars as part of our Training Officer Spotlight series. The final session in the series will be:
Developing a motivating training environment
Friday 26 June 2026 – 10am to 11:30am
This session is best suited to STP and ETP Training Officers but is open to anyone who is interested. The main aims of the session are:
- To explore approaches to motivation and learning.
- To identify and examine strategies to create a motivational training environment.
View further details and register for this webinar
The recordings from the previous sessions can be found in the Sharing Good Practice catalogue on our website. The details are below:
The role of the training officer as personal tutor, coach and mentor webinar
View further details and watch the recording of the webinar
Strategies to develop independent learning in work-based training
View further details and watch the recording of the webinar
Designing effective workplace training: Differentiated approaches and training methods
View further details and watch the recording of the webinar
These recordings, along with additional resources, are also available in the NSHCS Healthcare Science Training Resources catalogue in the NHS Learning Hub.
Access the Training Officer Spotlight series in the NHS Learning Hub
Sharing Good Practice webinars
We recently hosted the following 2 talks as part of our Sharing Good Practice series, the recordings of which are available in the Sharing Good Practice catalogue on our website:
AI and improving student accessibility to learning
Eleanor Brook considers how AI enhances students’ learning and explores how AI tools can support studying.
View the recording of the talk
Life after ETP
Charlie Allen shares her experiences of life after completing the Echocardiography Training Programme, including post accreditation development and practice.
View the recording of the talk
Provide your thoughts on proposed changes to the Clinical Engineering STP curriculum
You have until the end of this week to provide your thoughts on the proposed updates to the Clinical Engineering STP curriculum.
This academic year the Clinical Engineering STP has undergone a periodic review. You can find out more about the curriculum review process on the school website. These changes will be introduced for September 2027 if supported by your feedback. Please feel free to share this opportunity.
Complete the Clinical Engineering survey until midnight, Friday 26 June
Annual monitoring return for accredited departments
Our annual monitoring return will commence on 31 July 2026. All departments accredited on or before 31 July 2025 (including reaccredited departments) are required to complete annual monitoring as part of their accreditation. If you have been accredited or reaccredited for a specialty within the last year, you are exempt from completing the return for that specialty only.
If you are part of a consortium, hub or network that delivers STP training, the appropriate contact will be emailed separately to complete the return on behalf of the whole consortium, hub or network.
Annual monitoring will be conducted in the form of an online questionnaire, which will be sent to you on 31 July 2026. The academic year you will need to report on is from 1 September 2025 to 31 August 2026. We will be asking for details of any changes that may have influenced or affected the delivery of training in relation to:
- staffing and organisation
- changes to training planning and the availability of resources
- engagement in ‘STP Induction for New Trainers’
- challenges encountered in delivering the STP programme
- support provided for equality, diversity and inclusion
If you have already notified the school of changes for this period through our change notification process, you are not required to report these changes again.
If you have not notified the school of any changes for this period or would like to notify us of a future change, please download and complete the Change Notification form, and any additional relevant forms and return to: england.nshcs.accreditation@nhs.net.
Non-completion of your annual monitoring return may affect your accreditation status and future commissioning of training posts.
Using the reflective practice guidance in the Curriculum Library
We recently delivered a webinar to both STP trainers and trainees on using the reflective practice guidance for the STP curriculum.
Watch the recording of the webinar about using the reflective practice guidance
Bring your questions to an STP trainers drop-in session
If you’re involved in training for the Scientist Training Programme (STP) we have planned drop-in events throughout the year. You can drop in any time during these sessions to speak to us.
View further details and dates of the drop-in sessions
Are you interested in sharing your practice?
If you or your network have developed practice that you feel could be valuable to share with your peers, please express an interest in sharing your practice via the form linked to below.
Express an interest in sharing your practice
Missed a previous edition of the STP Monthly Memo?
You will find previous copies of the STP Monthly Memo on our website.