How to Apply For Funding - Staffordshire Training Hub

Eligibility criteria

All applicants must meet all of the programme criteria and NHS England conditions of funding outlined below:

Hold a first level Professional Registration relevant to the professional background of your area of employment [NMC/HCPC/GPhC]
At least 3 years working as a qualified practitioner, gaining relevant experience in clinical practice
Must be working for a minimum of 30 hours per week
Must be employed as a Trainee Advanced Practitioner with evidence of a job description to reflect this prior to the start of the programme.
Confirmed protected Advanced Clinical Practice role for the trainee to be moved into on successful completion of the programme
Must have appropriate workplace clinical support, supervision, and assessment for the duration of the programme with an appropriately named Co-ordinating Education Supervisor and Associate Workplace Supervisor[s].
Have the full support from the organisation for the duration of the programme for supervision and protected study time without the use of annual/unpaid leave or non-working days.
Have an understanding of advanced practice roles
Good self-motivation, enthusiasm, and engagement to develop role as an advanced practitioner
Ability to plan own professional development and maintain a high level of clinical practice to meet the core capabilities and the four pillars of Advanced Practice

Application process

Please complete and submit the below Staffordshire Training Hub Funding Application documents and information and return to traininghub@gpfirst.net.

Application Form

NHSE supporting documents (Trainee, Employer and Supervisor documents)
A copy of your Trainee Advanced Practitioner job description
A copy of your confirmed MSc university pathway including number of requested credits and start/end date.
Confirmation of your employers current Maturity Matrix status as outlined below:

Not Started – No evidence of implementation

In Progress – Implementation in progress and evidence is available

Completed [review date confirmed] – Implementation complete and evidence is available

Funding application and supporting documents

Staffordshire Training Hub Funding Application Form can be found here

NHSE Trainee ‘readiness to’ supporting document can be found here

NHSE Supervisor ‘readiness to’ supporting document can be found here

NHSE Employers ‘supervision action plan’ supporting document can be found here

Before submitting your completed documents, please ensure that:

All sections of the application form and supporting documents are individually read, completed and signed by the relevant professional e.g. Trainee, Employer and Supervisor.

Incomplete or unsigned documentation will not be accepted.

Securing a University Place

Securing a university place or being active in the application process is one of the conditions of NHS England funding. It is therefore essential that the trainee has commenced or completed this process prior to applying for funding. Please note, although university recruitment dates don’t usually close until around 6-8 weeks before the commencement of the programme, closing dates for funding applications are usually significantly sooner. It is therefore imperative that the trainee applies to their chosen university as soon as possible.

Terminology Update – 2025

The second edition of the Multi-professional Framework for Advanced Practice replaces the term ‘advanced clinical practice’ with ‘advanced practice’ to better reflect the broad range of professional contexts in which advanced level work occurs. Although this change is reflected in the terminology used to describe advanced practice, university awards currently remain unchanged and retain the title ‘Advanced Clinical Practice’

Outcome Notification

The Application Form and the three supporting documents will be reviewed by the Staffordshire Training Hub Advanced Practice Panel to quality assure that the application meets NHS England requirements.

The applicant and employers will be contacted of the outcome via email within six weeks.

Application deadline

Applications for September 2026 intakes close Friday,15 May 2026.

Applications for January – March 2027 intakes will open Monday, 06 July 2026 and close Friday, 16 October 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. It is important to specify on your Application Form which intake you are applying for.

Further queries

If you would like additional information or support with the application process, please contact the Staffordshire Training Hub via traininghub@gpfirst.net