What is the Staffordshire GPN Foundation School?

Introduction to Staffordshire GPN Foundation School

The Staffordshire GPN Foundation School provides a system-wide, coordinated solution, bringing together practices, PCNs, higher education institutions, and the Staffordshire Training Hub to establish a gold-standard foundation pathway for nurses new to general practice. The programme offers centralised recruitment and employment, quality-assured practice placements, guaranteed supervision, and structured education, addressing historical barriers that have limited practices’ ability to recruit newly qualified or new-to-practice nurses. The model has been developed through extensive collaboration and learning from tested schemes nationally and is formally evaluated by the Queen’s Nursing Institute, which recognises the programme as a stepping stone towards a nationally standardised approach to GPN recruitment and training, aligned with the NHS Long Term Plan and the General Practice Nursing 10-Point Plan.

Staffordshire GPNFS tabs

Programme Background

The Staffordshire General Practice Nursing Foundation School (GPNFS) was developed in response to longstanding and well-evidenced challenges in recruiting, training, and retaining General Practice Nurses (GPNs). National and local data highlight an ageing GP nursing workforce, persistent recruitment difficulties, and significant variation in access to structured education, supervision, and support for nurses entering general practice. These challenges present risks not only to workforce sustainability, but also to patient safety, service continuity, and the delivery of high-quality, preventative care.

The programme was created following extensive research and assessment of existing General Practice Nurse training schemes that have been tried and tested both locally and nationally. By consolidating the most effective elements of these models, the GPNFS delivers a gold-standard, evidence-informed approach to GPN education and workforce development. Wide collaboration across the country informed the design of the programme, ensuring it is innovative, sustainable, and capable of delivering benefits for GPN education, the wider workforce, and ultimately patient care and safety.

Central to the programme is the introduction of a coordinated, system-wide approach to recruitment and training, led by the Staffordshire Training Hub. The programme enables the central recruitment of a GPN workforce across Staffordshire, with nurses directly employed within Primary Care Networks and a clear ambition of supporting at least one Foundation GPN within each PCN. Trainees are offered exposure to a broad range of primary care experiences, either within a single practice or across a wider PCN footprint, maximising learning opportunities while supporting service delivery.

Each trainee is enrolled on the Fundamentals in General Practice Nursing course, delivered in partnership with local Higher Education Institutions, providing a nationally recognised academic foundation. This is complemented by PCN-named clinical supervision, with competency development and assessment undertaken locally and supported by the Staffordshire Training Hub. This ensures that supervision, assessment, and quality assurance are delivered consistently and systematically across all PCNs, addressing historical variability and reducing risk for employers.

The GPNFS provides the infrastructure required to support a formal Foundation pathway into General Practice Nursing. In addition to academic learning, the programme offers a comprehensive support package for trainees, New to Practice (NTP) nurses, and supervisors, including:

Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
Clinical supervision
Supervisor and assessor training
Peer support and professional networks

While the Fundamentals programme is widely recognised as the gold standard for training new GPNs, previous cohorts nationally have highlighted challenges related to supervision capacity and consistency. The GPNFS directly addresses these concerns by embedding structured supervision, clear accountability, and dedicated support from the Training Hub, reducing reliance on ad-hoc intervention and ensuring a safer, more sustainable model for practices.

At its core, the GPNFS is about developing a sustainable future for General Practice Nursing. It establishes a standardised, fit-for-purpose training and education pathway that supports succession planning, provides assurance to employers, and creates an attractive, supported route into primary care for Newly Qualified Nurses (NQNs) and nurses new to general practice. The programme gives PCNs the confidence, structure, and quality assurance required to recruit, develop, and retain GPNs effectively.

The programme has been shared nationally, including at the national GPN symposium, and has been formally endorsed by the Queen’s Institute of Community Nursing (QICN) as a stepping stone towards a more nationally standardised system of GPN recruitment and training. The approach aligns with the NHS Long Term Plan and builds on the principles set out in the General Practice Nursing 10 Point Plan, positioning the Staffordshire GPN Foundation School as a scalable, replicable model for future workforce development.

🩺 The role of General Practice Nurses

General Practice Nurses (GPNs) are a vital part of the primary care workforce. Working autonomously, they manage patients of all ages with a wide range of conditions and increasingly care for complex patients, taking on elements of traditional GP workload.

📈 Growing pressure on primary care

As demand in primary care continues to rise, the role of the GPN is becoming increasingly critical—particularly in long-term condition management, prevention, and population health. While the workforce is highly skilled, its sustainability is threatened by increasing workload, an ageing GPN workforce, recruitment and retention challenges, and variation in skills, supervision, and training.

⚠️ Inconsistent training and supervision

Unlike GP training, which is delivered through a nationally standardised GP Deanery model, GPN education remains variable and optional across the UK. Although the Fundamentals in General Practice Nursing course is recognised as the gold standard, uptake is inconsistent. This results in variable competence and confidence, unrealistic expectations of new GPNs, and increased risks to patient safety.

🧩 Impact on recruitment and retention

Evidence from the Staffordshire Training Hub shows that nurses new to general practice are at increased risk of leaving when supervision and development are insufficient. Common reasons cited include poor supervision, unreasonable expectations, and concerns about unsafe practice. These challenges highlight the need for a structured, standardised foundation pathway to support both nurses and employers.

Trainee General Practice Nursing Pilot Scheme

North Staffordshire GP Federation

Project Team

Rachel Viggars
Ian Gibson
Dr Sharon Turner
Dr Deepa Muthumanickam

Overview of the Pilot Scheme

In 2020, the North Staffordshire GP Federation launched an innovative initiative to strengthen the General Practice Nursing workforce across North Staffordshire and Stoke‑on‑Trent. The programme recruited six registered nurses (3 were newly qualified and 3 had qualified in the previous 3 years – all were early-stage careers) into General Practice using a centralised employment model — a first for the region.

This approach offered a structured, supportive entry into primary care, addressing long‑standing recruitment challenges and creating a sustainable pipeline of skilled General Practice Nurses.

How the Programme Worked

Centralised Employment All six nurses were employed directly by the North Staffordshire GPN Foundation for a 12‑month period.
Education & Training Participants completed the Fundamentals of General Practice Nursing qualification in partnership with Keele University.
Digital Readiness Support from the Technology Innovation Fund enabled trainees to access digital training and equipment essential for modern primary care.
Funding & Support Although the original plan aimed to recruit 13 nurses (one per PCN), additional grants could not be secured. The North Staffordshire GP Federation stepped in as the sole funder, recognising the strategic importance of the project and committing full financial and organisational backing.

Alignment with the NHS GPN 10‑Point Plan

The pilot directly supported national priorities by:

Raising the profile of General Practice Nursing as a first‑destination career
Expanding leadership and educator roles within primary care
Establishing structured induction and preceptorship pathways
Improving retention across the GPN workforce

Impact & Legacy

Although funded for only one year, the pilot became the blueprint for the Staffordshire GPN Foundation School, which continues to grow and evolve.

The current Staffordshire GPN Foundation School programme builds on the success of the 2020 NSGPF model and demonstrates how recruitment and training at scale can deliver a consistent, high‑quality, and sustainable approach to developing the primary care nursing workforce.

The North Staffordshire GP Federation continues to support the Foundation School through employment hosting.

📉 The Challenge

Workforce data and operational experience consistently demonstrate that the General Practice Nursing (GPN) workforce is diminishing. This is driven by reduced retention and persistently low levels of recruitment into the profession. Key contributing factors include increasing workload pressures, inconsistent supervision, and insufficient support for nurses who are new to general practice.

🎯 Programme Response

This programme has been designed to directly address these recruitment and retention challenges by:

👥 Centralised recruitment and support
Delivering a coordinated model to attract and bring new nurses into primary care.

🎓 Standardised training pathway
Establishing a clear, structured framework of education, supervision, and professional development for all nurses entering GPN roles.

🏥 Practice and PCN enablement
Supporting PCNs and practices to implement defined roles, supervision structures, and development frameworks, ensuring greater consistency in GPN skills, experience, and confidence across the system.

🚀 Sustainable Delivery Model

Delivery of the programme requires initial pump-priming investment and multi-agency commitment to establish the infrastructure and workforce model. This will enable the programme to be embedded and transitioned into a sustainable, mainstreamed approach that strengthens the future GPN workforce.

The GPN Foundation School programme benefits from a close collaboration between a number of stakeholders, including but not limited to:

Staffordshire Training Hub
North Staffordshire GP Federation
GP First LTD
Staffordshire PCNs and Practices
Queen’s Institute of Community Nursing
NHS England
Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care Board and Integrated Care System

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