Paediatric sub-specialty training - application guidance

New for 2026-27 round

• The application form (on Oriel) will have no shortlisting questions.
• Evidence of training experience across five training areas be covered in the Confirmation of Eligibility (CoE) form, with required verification from an Educational Supervisor (ES).
• The longlisting process, based on meeting basic eligibility criteria and a fully completed and verified CoE form, will determine eligibility for an invite to interview.
• Applicants will put together a selected portfolio for the interview and upload to Qpercom by January 2027.
• Interviews will take place over two stations instead of one station. They will last 40 minutes (10 minutes longer) and panels will ask at least one question relating to the selected portfolio.

For full details, download the Sub-specialty Applicant Guide 2027 and the Confirmation of Eligibility & Selected Portfolio Guidance below

The programme summaries and job descriptions will be available to view from 7 October on a SharePoint site.

Timeline for 2026-27 round

• * We recommend sending the Confirmation of Eligibility form to your deanery contact at least one week before the application deadline to ensure they have enough time to complete their section of the form. If it is sent after that, they may use their discretion to accept it or not. Late forms will not be accepted.
• ** We recommend submitting applications at least 48 hours before the closing date to allow for any technical problems or unforeseen circumstances.

Interview dates for 2026-27 round

Eligibility

All applicants should ensure that they meet the criteria listed below in order for their application to be considered. Paediatric sub-specialty training is available for all trainees in the UK Paediatric Training pathway, along with some specific exceptions for trainees from related specialties, as detailed below.

There are no personal specifications for individual sub-specialties.

Applications that do not meet these criteria will be longlisted out of the process.

RCPCH trainees

• Completed Confirmation of Eligibility form on RCPCH ePortfolio (risr)
• Completion of MRCPCH examinations (must have passed at the point of interview)
• Completion or expected completion of Core Level paediatric training by the time of entry to the sub-specialty training programme
• Annual Review of Competency Progression (ARCP) must be an outcome 1 at the point of application*
• Must have enough time to complete sub-specialty training before CCT date (demonstrated on the Confirmation of Eligibility form on Risr/ePortfolio)

* If currently on an outcome 8 for being out of programme (OOP), your previous outcome must have been 1. If you have joined the training pathway at ST3, after 1 January 2026, and have not yet had an ARCP, you are required to be on outcome 1 by the point of interview. As such, an (interim) ARCP must be arranged, so that their outcome 1 can be confirmed in January 2027.

Download Confirmation of eligibility form below

RCPCH academic trainees

• Completed Confirmation of Eligibility form on RCPCH ePortfolio (risr)
• Completion of MRCPCH examinations (must have passed at the point of interview)
• Completion or expected completion of Core Level paediatric training by the time of entry to the sub-specialty training programme
• Annual Review of Competency Progression (ARCP) must be an outcome 1 at the point of application*
• Must have enough time to complete sub-specialty training before CCT date (demonstrated on the Confirmation of Eligibility form on Risr/ePortfolio)
• Should have an Academic Clinical Lectureship (ACL) post already arranged

These academic posts are supernumerary to the clinical posts that we advertise in the recruitment programmes, and they are therefore not included in the preferences and offers process. Trainees that are found appointable following the interview process can take up an academic post up till October of that recruitment year. Otherwise, you will need to reapply in a future round.

Download Confirmation of eligibility form below

Republic of Ireland (ROI) paediatric trainees

Must demonstrate the following by submitting a completed Confirmation of eligibility form for Irish PGDiTs, which will be available in the Downloads box below:

• Emailed completed Confirmation of Eligibility for ROI PgDiTs form to the College team
• Currently in the ROI paediatric training programme
• Completion of MRCPI in Paediatrics and all BST General Paediatrics Mandatory Courses
• Demonstration of completion or expected completion of core training capabilities by the time of entry to the sub-specialty programme as outlined in RCPCH Progress+ curriculum

Download Confirmation of eligibility form for ROI PgDITs below

Anaesthetic trainees

There is no requirement for trainees in this allied medical specialty to have MRCPCH exams or the paediatric capabilities listed in the RCPCH trainee eligibility criteria, but they should be aware of their own essential requirements.

• Emailed completed Confirmation of Eligibility Form 2027 - Anaesthetic and ICM PGDiTs form to the College team
• Currently in UK Anaesthetics training pathway
• Ensured that 24 months WTE OOP is approved for PICM training
• Have FRCA
• Have completed ST5 by the time of entry into PICM training

Contact for more information: PICM ISAC

Download Confirmation of eligibility form for Anaesthetic and ICM PGDiTs below

Intensive care medicine (ICM) trainees

There is no requirement for trainees in this allied medical specialty to have MRCPCH exams or the paediatric capabilities listed in the RCPCH trainee eligibility criteria, but they should be aware of their own essential requirements.

• Emailed completed Confirmation of Eligibility Form 2027 - Anaesthetic and ICM PGDiTs form to the College team
• Currently in the UK ICM training pathway
• Have Primary FRCA, MRCEM/intermediate FRCEM, MRCP (UK) or equivalent
• Have completed Stage 1 of the ICM Training Programme (ST4) by the time of entry into PICM training
• Dual CCT ICM trainees (with either Acute Internal Medicine (AIM) or EM or Anaesthesia) will need to gain approval to extend their training to complete PICM training. Single ICM CCT trainees will have no extension to training.

Sub-specialty recognition: ICM trainees are eligible for sub-specialty recognition of PICM in their CCT. It is preferable that applications to PICM are made by the end of Stage 1 of the ICM Training Programme, to give the best chance of integrating it into their training.

Download Confirmation of eligibility form for Anaesthetic and ICM PGDiTs below

Contact for more information: PICM ISAC

Trainees outside of a UK/ROI training programme (not eligible)

Applications from those outside of a UK/Republic of Ireland training programme are not eligible to apply. Please look at available options on our page for international doctors looking for opportunities in the UK.

If a doctor has training, qualifications and experience in paediatrics but has gained these partly or completely outside of an approved CCT training programme (for example, they have trained outside the UK or Republic of Ireland, moved abroad or taken a career break) and they are looking to join the GMC Specialist Register, they may be eligible to apply for the Portfolio Pathway.

Trainees from outside of a UK/Republic of Ireland training programme may be eligible to apply to core paediatric training and then apply to sub-specialty training once in the UK training programme.

Sub-specialty recognition

It is not possible to gain 'dual accreditation' in more than one specialty. CCTs will be in Paediatrics. On completion of sub-specialty training, the particular sub-specialty will appear in brackets after the primary specialty Paediatrics on the Specialist Register.

Only trainees who have been approved for sub-specialty training within the sub-specialty recruitment process may have a sub-specialty listed on the Specialist Register.

More about sub-specialty recognition

Indicative training time

Sub-specialty training is capability-based and programmes are typically two to three years indicatively. Applicants must ensure they have enough time to complete the required capabilities before their agreed CCT date, as it cannot be changed to accommodate sub-specialty training.

For those applying with less than the indicative time in their chosen sub-specialty remaining before CCT, it is possible to use evidence of a maximum of one-year WTE specialty level training, UK experience or equivalent (OOP Pause or OOP Training) to ensure eligibility. This evidence must have been approved by the relevant CSAC Chair prior to the application process. N.B. Evidence of prior experience does not guarantee success in the recruitment process. There is no guarantee that capabilities will be counted towards future progress in training and they will still need to be evidenced once in a sub-specialty programme.

Applicants are required to email the relevant CSAC Chair for approval and upload the approval email as evidence to their Confirmation of Eligibility form on Risr.

See list of CSACs and Chairs

Download Evidencing prior experience for sub-specialty training - for types of relevant experience that are accepted 

How to apply

• Download the Confirmation of Eligibility and Selected Portfolio Guidance below and read carefully.
• Complete Section 1 of the Confirmation of Eligibility (CoE) form on ePortfolio (risr) as soon as possible and before applications open. As well as the basic eligibility criteria, this is part of the longlisting process.
• Register for an account on Oriel, using the same email as on your RCPCH account.
• It is recommended that applications are submitted at least 48 hours before the closing date to allow for any technical problems or unforeseen circumstances.
• Late applications or Confirmation of Eligibility forms will not be accepted under any circumstances. If technical problems are being experienced whilst submitting either forms, the applicant must contact the RCPCH Medical Workforce and Recruitment team on  subspecialty@rcpch.ac.uk as soon as possible and at least an hour before the final deadline.
• Reasonable adjustments and special circumstances requests need to be noted on the application and the relevant form (available in the Downloads box below) completed and returned to the College team.

Other notes

• Trainees are not limited in the number of attempts that they can apply to sub-specialty training. This is subject to having enough time left before the CCT date and can count up to one year WTE towards training.
• Applicants can apply for a maximum of two sub-specialties in each round. Separate application forms must be submitted for each sub-specialty.
• A deferral request will be accepted for statutory reasons only (eg parental leave or ill health). This does not affect trainees applying while they are out of programme (OOP) or on parental leave if they meet the eligibility criteria, but trainees will not be able to defer to go OOP. You must put you intention to defer and intended start date (if known) on you application form. Any requests for deferral that are made after or outside of the recruitment process timelines, either directly to the employing deanery or the RCPCH Medical Workforce and Recruitment team are also subject to the same rules.

Events

Applying to paediatric sub-specialty training 2026-27 webinar - August 2026

On Wednesday 5 August 2026, the RCPCH Medical Recruitment Team held this webinar to explain the application process and the changes for the 2026/27 round, followed by a Q&A. 

Paediatric sub-specialty careers event - June 2026

On 8 and 10 June 2026 the RCPCH Medical Recruitment Team held this event online across two evenings. Between 6-7pm each evening we started with the Opening Talk and ended with a Questions and Answers. The College team delivered a presentation on the recruitment process then representatives from each of the sub-specialties gave a short introduction on what it is like to work in their specialisms. There are recordings for both evenings below.

On 8 June there were representatives from Paediatric Allergy, Paediatric Diabetes and Endocrinology, Paediatric Emergency Medicine, Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Paediatric Inherited Metabolic Medicine, Paediatric Neurology, Paediatric Palliative Medicine and Paediatric Respiratory Medicine.
 

On 10 June there were representatives from General Paediatrics, Community Child Health, Neonatal Medicine, Paediatric Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Paediatric Intensive Care Medicine, Paediatric Nephrology, Paediatric Neurodisability, Paediatric Oncology and Paediatric Rheumatology.

Please check back here soon for future events.

Contact

If you have any questions, please contact us:

• Email: subspecialty@rcpch.ac.uk
• Phone: 020 7092 6139