About
The PAFTA process is delivered in two stages:
- The regional PAFTA process is coordinated by deaneries or schools. Anyone within a region can nominate individuals for the award categories available locally. If you would like to nominate someone, please contact your local deanery or school for details.
- The national PAFTA process is managed by RCPCH and is open exclusively to regional winners. Submissions must be made by Heads of School or Trainee Committee regional representatives only.
Each deanery across the UK may submit one regional winner per category: Core Trainee, Specialty Trainee and Educational Supervisor.
These regional winners are then entered into the national process run by the College. The submissions for regional winners are scored by two panels in the national review process: National Panel and RCPCH &Us panel, consisting of children and young people.
- The 15 Regional Deaneries and Schools
- East Midlands
- East of England
- Kent, Surrey and Sussex
- London
- North East, including north Cumbria
- North West: North Western
- North West: Mersey
- Northern Ireland
- Scotland
- South West*
- Thames Valley
- Wales
- Wessex
- West Midlands
- Yorkshire and the Humber
* Please note: The two former South West regions (Peninsula and Severn) have now merged under the South West School. Therefore, only one submission per award category will be accepted from the South West region.
Submitting to the national PAFTA (closes on 1 February 2027)
Each year we invite Heads of School and RCPCH Trainee Committee regional representatives to submit their regional PAFTA winners to RCPCH for consideration in the national award.
Submissions for the 2027 PAFTA opened on 2 November 2026 at 12:00 and will close on 1 February 2027 at 12:00.
For reference, you can download our guidance and vocabulary guide below. If you have any questions, contact us on awards@rcpch.ac.uk.
- Changes to the national PAFTA process as of the 2026 round
We made updates in response to feedback from the regional teams over previous years. Here's a summary:
- Submission questions: The number of questions in the submission form are reduced from four to two. The revised questions are designed to be more focused and avoid repetition. The same set of questions applies across all award categories, which ensures consistency in the review process.
- Category names: To align with Progress+, the names of the award categories are updated:
- Core Trainee (previously Junior Trainee) – ST1-4
- Specialty Trainee (previously Senior Trainee) – ST5-7
- Educational Supervisor (unchanged