HORUS E-portfolio and the ARCP Process
In preparation of completing your Foundation Year 1 and 2 you need to complete all the requirements as laid out in your e-portfolio (Horus). Below is a simple check list we have put together for F1 and F2 that you can follow throughout your year to ensure your portfolio is constantly up to date and on track for a successful ARCP. Please Note: ARPCs take place in early/mid June and portfolio's will close at the end of May.
For 2025 - Portfolio's close on 29th May (midnight) 2025 and ARCP panels will take place between 3rd - 6th June 2025. You will be notified of your outcome by the 27th June 2025. These checklists may be amended at any time to reflect any updates in the NHSE requirements for completion of the Foundation Programme. We will notify you of any changes via your NHS email address and we will make sure only the most up to date versions are available on this website.
The information contained in these checklists are for guidance only taken from information and updates we receive from NHSE and UKFPO - you should always refer to NHSE and UKFPO alongside our guides.Please note that for FY2s and study leave applications, one of the criteria for obtaining approval for study leave is that your e-portfolio is up to date and on track for a successful ARCP, therefore it is in your best interest to keep on top of the requirements.
Quality Improvement / Audit Requirements:
The curriculum requirements for QI in F1 and F2 are different. Please use the descriptors on your curriculum but as a guide this is what your ARPC panel will look for:
F1: Some evidence of their involvement uploaded to FPC 9 – EVIDENCE OF PARTICIPATION AS AN F1
F2: Evidence has to be much more substantial – SIGNIFICANT INVOLVEMENT/LEAD IN A PROJECT AS AN F2
The ideal and GOLD STANDARD would be uploading a presentation with feedback that they have presented. If they haven’t presented, then they should put together the presentation and upload that with details of what they would say when they are going to present. At the very least they need to upload a document to show they have gathered data, interpreted it, and thought about what that means in relation to the reason why they started the project in the first place.
We are increasingly being asked how to obtain community evidence, so examples of how you can obtain community evidence includes:
Outpatient clinics Clinic in a community hospital Involvement in multi-disciplinary discharge planning can be used as community evidence
Obs & Gynae – early pregnancy clinic
Self Development Time (SDT)All foundation Drs (F1s and F2s) will receive (as mandatory) the equivalent of 2hours per week SDT imbedded into their rota for each placement – it is up to the department to decide how this is given to best suit the rota’s (i.e. weekly, bi weekly, monthly). Rota coordinators will ensure that, over the period of the placement each trainee receives the equivalent of 2hrs per week.
It is not advised to take this time any more infrequently than once a month as all trainees must use this time to work on portfolios, QI projects etc. and it is an ARCP requirement that all portfolios are worked on contemporaneously. Uploading everything at the end of a placement (or end of training year) is not an acceptable practice.
Signing off SLEs (Supervised Learning Events)
An SLE is an interaction between a foundation doctor and a trainer which leads to immediate feedback and reflective learning.
SLEs with direct observation of the doctor/patient encounter use mini-CEX and DOPS
SLEs that take place remotely from patients then use: CBDs and DCTs
A different teacher/trainer should be used for each SLE wherever possible, including at least 1 consultant or GP principal level per placement. The ES or CS should also be used for an SLE.
In principle the following grade Doctors can sign off your SLEs
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Supervising Consultants
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GP principals
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Doctors more senior than F2
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Experienced nurses (band 5 or above
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Allied health professional colleagues
TAB - Team Assessment of Behaviour
You can choose to start your TAB in your 1st or 2nd placement, however is it a requirement that your TAB has been started by the end of January to ensure sufficient time to complete.
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You must complete your self-TAB before you can start the feedback process
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Once you have completed your self-TAB you will have 45 days to gather responses
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Assessors should be chosen from your current placement and all feedback must be gathered by the date specified.
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A valid TAB requires a minimum of 10 assessor responses and must include the following (it is highly recommended that you invite more than 10 assessors to give feedback to cover for any non-responses):
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2 consultants or trained GPs. Your named CS should normally be used as an assessor but is not mandatory
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1 other doctor more senior than F2
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2 senior nurses (Band 5 or above)
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2 allied health professionals / other team members including ward clerks, secretaries and auxiliary staff - NOTE: only 2 foundation Drs will count towards your total number of responses and will be classed as allied health professionals.
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PSG - Placement Supervision Group Feedback
As part of the Peninsula Foundation School good practice we would like you to have 1 PSG per placement however the ARCP requirement is a minimum of 1 PSG for the training year. We are asking all trainees to ensure, wherever possible, that their minimum requirement of 1 PSG is completed in the 2nd placement.
It is the responsibility of your CS to set up your PSG and identify 3-5 colleagues who you will work with closely during your time on the placement and can therefore give accurate and detailed feedback to your CS during your placement and via the PSG. You must ensure your CS identifies assessors for your PSG early in your placement (preferably during your initial meeting)
It is your responsibility to discuss the PSG with your CS during your initial meeting so that the PSG is opened and requests have been sent to the identified assessors.
The process of naming assessors on the CS initial meeting form does not start/open a PSG - this needs to be done separately under the PSG tab on your portfolio.
The people requested to feedback via the PSG should do so only after you have completed a reasonable length of time in the placement to enable detailed feedback.
The PSG should then be used by your CS to help provide an accurate and informative end of placement report
The difference between a TAB and a PSG:
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The trainee cannot choose who feeds back to the PSG so assessors cannot be favourably picked.
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We recommend between 3-5 assessors for the PSG rather than the min 10 for TAB
CURRICULUM EVIDENCE AND PORTFOLIO EXTRAS
Advice for Linking Evidence to the Foundation Curriculum
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Items uploaded against each section of the foundation curriculum should provide high quality evidence to support curriculum sign off.
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Each linked piece of evidence should clearly relate to the relevant capability
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The same piece of evidence can only be linked a maximum of 3 times across the 13 capabilities
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E-learning and/or attendance at a teaching session can only be linked ONCE
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At least 5 direct clinical observations of clinical encounters in SLEs to be linked to FPCs 1-5 with specific life support competencies evidenced in FPC2
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Although we do not specify exact numbers for pieces of evidence mapped to the curriculum, UKFPO suggests around 5 pieces of good quality evidence for each FPC appears to be sufficient. HORUS e-portfolio puts a cap on evidence linkage of 10 pieces of evidence per FPC.
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Each of the 13 foundation professional capabilities are associated with 'descriptors' which give indicative examples of how the capability can be demonstrated. The descriptors can be seen by clicking the link at the top right of the curriculum overview page in each trainee’s portfolio.
Types of Evidence for Linking
Evidence can take many forms, most commonly including:
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Supervised learning events
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Reflection on clinical or professional experiences
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Evidence of formal training / eLearning (certificates)
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Evidence of participation in evidence-based medicine (guidelines, posters, presentations)
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Quality improvement work
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Multi-source feedback / Team Assessment of Behaviour (TAB)
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PDP Progress (self-evaluation form