National paediatric recruitment 2024-25 - FAQs

The NHS Paediatrics National Recruitment Office has completed the shortlisting round for 2024-25 Specialty Training 1 (ST1) entry, as of 23 January 2025. With a significant increase in applications for paediatrics, we highlight College resources and guidance available for postgraduate doctors and trainers to support a career in paediatrics.

Update - 29 January

Following discussions with the NHS National Recruitment Office (NRO), they have confirmed there will be more slots open up for ST1 interviews on Friday 7 March.

They are working through assessor availability and structural planning and will then email those impacted when they know the exact number of slots. Two important notes:

  1. The NHS NRO will contact those impacted so please wait for their contact - any emails to them will delay them being able to get emails out
  2. This is an NHS rather than College process so we are not managing the administration for these additional slots.

About national recruitment 2024-25

Competition ratios for the UK national training programme across all specialties have been rising year-on-year. We have seen a significant increase in applications for paediatrics at ST1 for 2024-25. Shortlisting has been incredibly competitive and the quality of candidates has been extremely high.

The College has received a number of concerns from members regarding entry into the national paediatrics programme. During a period of high competition ratios and at a time when demands on paediatrics services is so high, every doctor who chooses paediatrics is important and valued. There are many ways of developing and progressing a career in paediatrics even at a time when application ratios are competitive. These include applying to the national training programme at alternative application points, including future ST1 and ST3 entry, as well as spending time in locally employed roles in the short or longer term.

To support postgraduate doctors to take their next steps, we have put together this page with key information and links on alternative pathways with reflections and case studies from paediatrics colleagues alongside key information on what we are doing as a College to take these concerns forward.

Information for postgraduate doctors

In this section we have included key links with information about the application process and the different entry points to the national paediatrics training programme, and alternative career pathways.

NHS Paediatrics National Recruitment Office

RCPCH guidance on application to the national training pathway

RCPCH guidance on the academic training pathway

NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowship posts in paediatrics

SAS doctors have a wide range of skills and experience, and they form an essential part of the paediatric workforce. You can find out more information about current SAS career journeys, case studies from paediatrics SAS doctors and reflections on their journey below:

What is the College doing?

The College is working hard to support the paediatric workforce at every opportunity. A key priority for us is to ensure that we have the right number of paediatricians available in the right place at the right time for our patients. 

Calling on government to create more paediatric training places

  • There have been 400-500 ST1 paediatric training numbers each year since 2018. 
  • In 2019, we estimated a need to recruit about 600 doctors into ST1 training posts each year for about five years (RCPCH Workforce census: UK overview report 2019).
  • We continue to make the case for more paediatric training places to Government and the Department and Health and Social Care through the opportunities presented with the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan Refresh and NHS 10 Year Plan consultation.
  • Although we persistently call for more training numbers and raise concerns about the rising competition ratios, the national recruitment process is governed and overseen by NHS Medical and Dental Recruitment and Selection, and the final decision on numbers is made by NHS training organisations in each UK nation.
  • National recruitment is delivered by the NHS Paediatrics National Recruitment Office. We are liaising with that office to review interview capacity for ST1 recruitment and provide support where possible. 

Surveying our members

  • We continue to make sure our members' voices and experiences are heard by Government.
  • Our rota gaps survey finding report, published in November 2024, shows services are operating with an average deficit of 20% WTE (Whole Time Equivalent) on Tier 1 and Tier 2 rotas. We have highlighted on repeated occasions the risk of an overstretched workforce with ever increasing demand in child health. The findings showed rota gap duration was largely over three months, lasting three to six months or six months to a year. Both ‘less than full time working’ and ‘lack of deanery trainee allocation’ (either due to gaps in rotation or insufficient places for a fully compliant rota) were main causal factors behind rota gaps.
  • Urgent action needs to be taken to address this disparity, and have made these recommendations:
    • Deaneries to review their workforce plan six to 12-monthly in anticipation of potential gaps in the NHS England-funded postgraduate doctor in training (PGDiT) posts and request adequate PGDiT recruitment during the national paediatric recruitment cycle.
    • To account for increased less than full time working, deaneries should recruit to their WTE envelope and/or consider planning based on current 80% instead of 100% as being full time.
    • Local employers may also opt to release local funding to enable flexibility in the recruitment of short-term staff roles in paediatrics such as Locally Employed Doctors, Specialty, Associate Specialist and Specialist (SAS) doctors and Fellows.