NHS England - South West Dental Postgraduate Education will open the application process for recruiting Dental Foundation Training Educational Supervisors for the 2026-27 Foundation Training intake from early December.
Please carefully read the following guidance and Job Description on how to apply.
FD Educational Supervisor Application Guidance
Thank you for your interest in becoming an Educational Supervisor on the South West Dental Foundation Training Scheme starting in September 2026.
If you are a current ES you will not need to submit an application form and supporting documents if you wish to continue as an ES from September 2026. You will be required to complete a Microsoft Forms in early January stating that you wish to continue and confirming no changes have been made to the practice in the past 12 months. By completing this form, signing it and returning it to the Foundation Training Admin team you are confirming you wish to continue as an ES.
New applicants must complete the Educational Supervisor Microsoft Forms application form which will be available below from early December until 6th March. In addition to the Forms submission, you must also email your supporting documentation form, to england.dentalfoundation.sw@nhs.net by the closing date of 6th March . Applications will be logged centrally and then forwarded to a scheme TPD to be checked through.
You will need to submit various documents alongside your application. These include Reflective Writing and PDP and 360 Degree Appraisal. You will need to imbed these documents into this template. Here you can find information on the Person Specification and Practice Specification and a Gold Standard guide.
Practice Visits
All new applicants will be visited. Current ESs who have confirmed that there have been no changes to the practice will not be required to have a practice inspection. All all new applicants will be contacted to inform them of their practice visit date and time.
The visit will be for approximately 90 minutes. You must not have patients booked for yourself during this time but the rest of the practice should work normally. If you are an associate applying to be an FT trainer, the practice owner should be available for about 15 minutes during the visit.
The visitors are GDPs who are only available for one day per week for visits. Therefore, it is important that you comply with the suggested time, almost certainly some patients will have to be cancelled. We apologise for this and hope you will understand.
Interviews
All new applicants will be interviewed in 2026. We are planning on holding interviews on 18th March. The interviews will be held virtually.
360 Degree Appraisal
This self assessment tool is a very useful way of gaining feedback on your own performance as a trainer and practitioner. There is a point in the scoring system this simple and effective technique, for those who show evidence that they have used this technique as part of a wider process of reflective writing and appraisal in drawing up a Professional Development Plan. We have strengthened this part of the trainer selection process in light of COPDEND's publication 'Standards for Dental Educators' which is downloadable from the COPDEND website. This document highlights the importance of reflection, feedback, planning and appraisal in the development of educators' skills.
Please note that applications are made to the South West Foundation Training Program, not to an individual FT scheme. Although schemes are arranged geographically, because of the national requirement to balance numbers in schemes, it cannot be guaranteed that a successful applicant will be placed on a particular FT scheme.
Please note that in order to be considered as a DFT Educational Supervisor, you must have been practicing for 3 years since receiving your Performer Number Or have completed your DFT year plus 3 years as an Associate.
Finally, as part of our procedure for the appointment of Foundation ESs, a list of all applicants is sent to the appropriate LDC, LAT, BDA and to the GDC, with a request for any comments they may wish to make.
DFT Educational Supervisor Application Form – Fill in form
Download the supporting documents template
The closing date for applications is Midnight on 6th March 2026.
Please email all application documents to the england.dentalfoundation.sw@nhs.net
Important Dates
Please note the key dates below. Attendance is compulsory for interviews, courses and workshops.
Educational Supervisors course:
New ESs course will take place on Thursday 9th July 2026
Developing Dental Educational Supervisors course will take place in July 2026 - date TBC.
ES workshops:
1st workshop TBC - this usually takes place in October 2026
2nd workshop TBC
Thank you for your co-operation.
Yours sincerely
Lucy Whitby
Associate Dean Foundation Training