*Information on funding applications for September 2026 cohorts coming soon*.
Overview
The Specialist Practice Qualification [SPQ] programme is a level 7 programme. The programme aims to develop you as a safe, competent, and professional Specialist Community Nurse, fit for practice in the field of General Practice Nursing. The SPQ enables development at enhanced and advanced levels of nursing which aligns with the Primary care and General Practice Nursing Career and Core Capabilities Framework which can be found here. As such, you may think it is time to review your qualifications in-order to boost your potential and progress your career, extend your role, developing your expertise in primary care.
The Specialist Practice Qualification [SPQ] programme is part time over two years, and covers two and a half days per week. You will require one university day, one day ‘In Practice’ as a student and half a day that is study time. The remaining hours of the week will be your substantive post. Funding is available from NHSE to support the salary of this programme of £17,836.
You will focus on educational issues that are related to Practice Nursing and Primary Healthcare. As the course is 50% theory and 50% practice, learning experiences take place in the practice as well during study. The programme steers strongly towards health promotion, triage and physical assessment and is designed to encourage the empowerment of patients. The theoretical modules are underpinned with evidence based practice and application to practice is highlighted throughout. Other key aspects of the course are inter-professional working, leadership and management and innovation.
The course will involve both assessments in theory and practical elements. Your theoretical assessments involve measuring academic knowledge at level 7 which will underpin your professional practice. Practical assessments are aimed at measuring knowledge, skills, expertise and attitudes to ensure that an appropriate theory/practice balance is achieved.
Working at an enhanced level of practice the Specialist Practitioner demonstrates advanced practice, higher level thinking, critical analysis and decision making.
The programme is delivered by Wolverhampton University only. Please see programme overview below for more information.
Career Pathway
The Specialist Practice course aims to develop you as a safe, competent, and professional Specialist Community Nurse, fit for practice in the field of General Practice Nursing.
The course will develop your knowledge using evidence-based practice within the research module, develop your range of skills by studying the Physical Health Assessment Module and develop your Leadership style and knowledge of managing change, leading teams, and preparing for innovative practice. You will also study the V300 Prescribing course leading to an additional annotation on the NMC register when you qualify.
On successful completion of the course you will also be able to register as a Specialist Practitioner on the NMC register.
On completion of the course, you will:
- Have an understanding of the principles of Specialist Practice including the developments of Practice Nursing.
- Use theories of research and evidence-based information to identify trends in health policy and the implications for health care and services.
- Help to promote health and well-being, influence policies and develop smooth effective healthcare services through partnerships and collaborative working.
- Be able to analyse, synthesise, evaluate, and present information, constructing rational and logical arguments to support.
- Practice competently and evaluate personal and professional performance as well as being able to organise and lead others.
Trainee Information for SPQ
Quick Course Overview
- 2 year part-time course
- 2.5 days out of practice comprising of: one day in University, one day as a student in practice and half a day allocated for study time. Remaining time as usual substantive post.
- The cost of the course is fully funded via NHSE and there is no financial contribution for the practice to make.
- There continues to be salary support from NHSE for this programme for 2025 this is £17,836
What does the one day as a ‘student’ look like in Practice?
This needs to be a variety of learning opportunities where you have the time to extend your skill set, elevate your knowledge which is different to the usual substantive role. As part of this, NMC requirements stipulate there should be 5 placement days that enable collaborative working to build a portfolio of knowledge, examples include;
- Diabetes & Respiratory specialisms
- Quality Improvement projects
- Time with the ACP / GP to enhance physical assessment skills and prescribing knowledge
- Minor illness clinics
- Leadership opportunities across a PCN
- Presenting at a conference
- Support teaching of nursing skills alongside the Staffordshire Training Hub Educators
- Shadowing of GPN Facilitators or other leadership teams
- Liaising opportunities with the ICB CNO
Supervisor/Assessor Information for SPQ
Supervision is a fundamental element of the Specialist Practice Qualification. Before agreeing to becoming a supervisor, it is important to ensure that you have the necessary experience, time, resources and support to enable you to provide good quality supervision. Supervisors must be fully invested and equipped to guide trainees throughout the duration of the SPQ programme. It is essential that you are familiar with the programme alongside the supervision/assessment requirements
Practice supervision and assessment
- Assessors must be a qualified SPQ practitioner. If this criteria is not achievable within the workplace, please contact the traininghub@gpfirst.net to discuss how we can help you with this requirement.
- An experienced prescriber must be available and willing to supervise and assess for 90 hours of the programme.
Please note, these do not have to be the same professional.
Employer Information for SPQ
Quick Course Overview
- 2 year part-time course
- 2.5 days out of practice comprising of: one day in University, one day as a student in practice and half a day allocated for study time. Remaining time as usual substantive post.
- The cost of the course is fully funded via NHSE and there is no financial contribution for the practice to make.
- There continues to be salary support from NHSE for this programme for 2026 this is £17,836.
What does the one day as a ‘student’ look like in Practice?
This needs to be a variety of learning opportunities where the trainee has the time to extend their skill set and elevate their knowledge which is different to the usual substantive role. As part of this, NMC requirements stipulate there should be 5 placement days that enable collaborative working to build a portfolio of knowledge, examples include;
- Diabetes & Respiratory specialisms
- Quality Improvement projects.
- Time with the ACP / GP to enhance physical assessment skills and prescribing knowledge
- Minor illness clinics
- Leadership opportunities across a PCN
- Presenting at a conference
- Support teaching of nursing skills alongside the Staffordshire Training Hub Educators
- Shadowing of GPN Facilitators or other leadership teams
- Liaise with the ICB CNO
Practice supervision and assessment
- Trainees require an assessor who must be a qualified SPQ practitioner. If this criteria is not achievable within your workplace, please contact the traininghub@gpfirst.net to discuss how we can help you with this requirement.
- Trainees will require an experienced prescriber who must be available and willing to supervise and assess for 90 hours of the programme.
Programme Overview at Wolverhampton University
This is a fully funded 2-year part-time course commencing in September 2026 and will be delivered as a blended approach which is mainly face-to-face at Wolverhampton City Campus. The University of Wolverhampton are the only university to offer the Specialist Practice Course for GPNs in the West Midlands.
Travel:
You may feel that the University of Wolverhampton is too far for you to consider studying there. However, there is a direct train from Stoke Station via Stafford that goes twice per hour and is less than a 30 minute journey. A return trip is likely to be around £20. The university is less than a 10 minute easy walk from the train station. The blended learning approach from the university therefore can attract applicants from all over Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.
You will study part-time over a two year period as outlined below:
Year 1:
The planned university day is a Thursday.
There will be a blended approach with a mix of face to face days and online delivery. Usually there is a pattern of 3 weeks in a row attending face to face followed by 3 weeks of virtual learning.
The only variation from this is the Health Assessment module which needs to be delivered face to face.
Year 2:
Currently the university day is Friday (subject to change).
The modules studied over the duration of the programme include:
- Contemporary Issues in Specialist Community Nursing. District Nursing/General Practice Nursing
- Developing and Leading Integrated Care in General Practice [General Practice Nursing]
- Developing History Taking and Physical Assessment Skills for the Adult Patient / Client
- Evidenced-based Practice for Specialist Practitioners
- Leading Public Health in Specialist Practice
- V300 Non-Medical Prescribing for Nurses and Midwives and Allied Health Professionals
Assessments are done in the form of a Practice competency document, presentations, reports and assignments. There are no exams.
How To Prepare
It is important that the applicant, employer and assessors/supervisor[s] have a thorough understanding of the Specialist Practice Qualification programme requirements, levels of supervision and mandatory protected learning obligations needed for the duration of the programme. It is recommended that all parties discuss the expectations and commitment needed and how these can be realised within the organisation before commencing the application process. Higher rates of programme completion and reduced workforce attrition is seen when this is achieved.
We recommend that time is taken to read the information provided, which aims to provide essential information to enable assessment of individual and organisational readiness for the programme.
Eligibility criteria:
All applicants must meet all of the course criteria outlined below:
- Must be NMC registered nurse (level 1) with at least one year’s post registration experience with relevant professional registration and be employed in a substantive post as a GPN.
- Must be able to provide evidence of study at first degree or the ability to study at level 7.
- Must be able to provide an employer reference and evidence of either a full-time or part-time post (minimum 30 hours) with an appropriate primary care placement for the duration of the programme.
- Must provide a signed declaration of good health and character signed by employer, in line with NMC Guidance (NMC 2019).
- Be able to provide evidence of support from your employer for the duration of the programme including protected study time.
- Must have secured appropriate workplace clinical support, supervision, and assessment for the duration of the programme with an appropriately named assessors/supervisor[s].
- Must have an allocated Practice Supervisor (Experienced nurse supervisor and / or GP)
- Must have an allocated Practice Assessor who is an experienced registered nurse with SPQ qualification to support you throughout the programme in accordance with Standards for Supervision and Assessment [NMC 2018]. Please note, support from Staffordshire Training Hub is available to support you with this element. To discuss this further please email: traininghub@gpfirst.net
- Must have the support of an experienced prescriber with suitable equivalent qualifications for the programme who is willing to assess you for 90 hours of prescribing practice. Please note, upon application you are requested to complete a Prescribing Entry Requirements form (PER) to verify eligibility.
- Recognition of prior learning (RPL) will be considered on an individual basis as per the University’s RPL guidance and professional regulation Standards for Post Registration Programmes (NMC, 2022).
- There continues to be salary support from NHSE for this programme for 2026 this is £17,836.
Please take the time to discuss this course with your employer.
Please see the ‘How to Apply’ section for more information on the application requirements.
How To Apply
Application process
Before proceeding, please ensure that you meet all of the eligibility criteria outlined in the ‘how to prepare section’.
- Please complete the Staffordshire Training Hub Funding Application Form found here alongside the supporting evidence outlined below and return to the traininghub@gpfirst.net.
- A signed declaration of good health, character and available support from Employer.
- Evidence from Employer of a substantive GPN post of minimal 30 hours per week.
Please note, all sections of the application form need to be completed by the applicant, employer, assessor & prescribing professional. Applications that are incomplete or do not include the requested evidence will not be accepted which may impact funding opportunities.
2. It is important that you also apply directly to Wolverhampton University alongside the above to avoid missing the course application deadline.
- Wolverhampton University: Apply for SPQ programme
Outcome Notification
The Application Form will be reviewed by the Staffordshire Training Hub panel to quality assure that the application meets NHS England requirements.
The applicant and employers will be contacted of the outcome via email within four weeks.
Application deadline
The deadline date for September 2026 applications is latest Friday, 17 July 2026
Please note,
- Due to a limited number of NHSE funded places, we cannot guarantee that places will be available. Confirmation of funding allocation will be dependent on NHSE provision and may require a selection process if there are a more applicants than places.
- Places are assessed on an individual basis and not first come first served basis.
- Applications may close early if oversubscribed.
Further queries
If you would like additional information or support with the application process, please contact the traininghub@gpfirst.net