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ARCPOphthalmology Resident DoctorsSupported Return to Training
Guidance on this page applies to the School of Ophthalmology across both sectors of NHS England – North West.
The Annual Review of Competence Progression (ARCP) takes place every year and assesses your progress against the required competencies. The information below outlines what is expected and what will be reviewed during the ARCP process.
In accordance with GMC and Gold Guide requirements, every doctor, including Less Than Full Time (LTFT) Resident Doctors, must have an ARCP at least once every 12 calendar months. For LTFT Resident Doctors this may mean you have multiple ARCPs during a single grade year.
ARCPs may not align with the end of your training grade year, unless you are approaching a 'critical progression point' where a formal progression decision is required. ARCPs at other times will assess requirements based on the amount of Whole Time Equivalent (WTE) of training time completed.
LTFT Resident Doctors are usually expected to progress in-line with their LTFT working percentage and WTE of training time worked, and ARCP requirements should usually be adjusted, pro-rata, accordingly.
Progression at a rate faster than the standard WTE rate, whether full-time or LTFT, is considered an acceleration of training and acceleration principles apply. Please see the 'Acceleration of training' section for further details.
For a full guide of the standard NHS England – North West process for ARCPs please visit our policies and procedures page:
Occasionally, an 'Educational Review' rather than a full ARCP. This is mainly for those resident doctors transitioning between level 3 and level 4 of the training programme as this usually takes place half-way through ST6 when no ARCP is scheduled. This is just a portfolio review, and the resident doctor will not usually attend.
Ophthalmology training is divided into four 'levels', numbered 1 to 4. The end of each level represents a critical progression point, where resident doctors must demonstrate that they have achieved the required standards to progress to the next level of training.
Level 1
Completion of 'Level 1' competencies must be achieved by the end of ST2 at the latest.
Part 1 FRCOphth must have been passed before a resident doctor can progress to 'Level 2'.
For all other requirements please refer to the RCOphth Level 1 Guide:
Level 2
Completion of 'Level 2' competencies must be achieved by the end of ST3 at the latest.
The Refraction certificate must have been passed before a resident doctor can progress to 'Level 3'.
For all other requirements please refer to the RCOphth Level 2 Guide:
Level 3
Completion of 'Level 3' competencies must be achieved by the half-way point of ST6 at the latest.
Both parts of the Part 2 FRCOphth must have been passed before a resident doctor can progress to 'Level 4'.
For all other requirements please refer to the RCOphth Level 3 Guide:
Level 4
Completion of 'Level 4' competencies must be achieved by CCT (end of ST7) at the latest.
For all requirements please refer to the RCOphth Level 4 Guide:
For a 12 month period, a full-time resident doctor is expected to have:
Please review the RCOphth Matrix of Progression for full details of the annual ARCP requirements.
You can also find information in the ARCP section of the RCOphth curriculum website.
Go to RCOphth curriculum 'Annual Review of Competency Progression (ARCP)' webpage
Please also refer to the RCOphth OST curriculum handbook for:
Go to RCOphth OST curriculum handbook
If you have been in programme for part of the year, the panel will also expect to see evidence that you have achieved the requirements of the ARCP decision aid in proportion to the amount of time you have been in programme, including an educational supervisor’s report.
Resident Doctors who are Out of Programme for Clinical Training (OOPT) must complete the standard requirements of the specialty curriculum as though they were in training, including Educational Supervisor Reports, EPAs, GSATs, MARs, WPBAs, MSFs and Form R (Part B).
For a period of OOPT to count towards the award of CCT, evidence will be required by the RCOphth that educational objectives have been met, including curriculum assessments for the entire period.
Resident Doctors who are Out of Programme for Research (OOPR) will need to submit a report from their research supervisor, and a Form R (Part B) prior to each ARCP.
Your supervisor must write a report on letter headed paper which should be saved to your personal library, it should comment on the below areas:
For Revalidation purposes, the report from your supervisor must include a declaration of whether or not they are aware that you been involved in any Serious Untoward Incidents, Significant Event Investigations or been named in any Complaints.
Resident Doctors who are Out of Programme for Experience (OOPE) will need to submit a report from their Educational supervisor, and a Form R (Part B) prior to each ARCP.
For Revalidation purposes, the report from your supervisor must include a declaration of whether or not they are aware that you been involved in any Serious Untoward Incidents, Significant Event Investigations or been named in any Complaints.
Resident Doctors who are Out of Programme for a Career Break (OOPC) only need to submit a Form R (Part B).
The Form R is a mandatory requirement from the GMC for all ARCPs.
Only 'Part B' of the Form R needs to be completed for every ARCP (the Form R is not required for Interim Progress Reviews and the Form R 'Part A' is not required for ARCPs in NHS England – North West).
The Form R must be completed within 8 weeks of the ARCP and by the deadline for evidence submission. If a 'Form R (Part B)' has not been completed within the 8 weeks prior to the ARCP Assessment panel, the panel will be unable to issue a satisfactory outcome.
It is important any ongoing or closed investigations/complaints since your last 'Form R (Part B)' are included.
You must make sure that all parts of the 'Form R (Part B)' are fully completed including the scope of practice section.
The Scope of Practice should include:
Important
From August 2022, all Form Rs must be completed via TIS Self Service (TSS). Old style form Rs (Word or PDF versions) will not be accepted.
To use TSS you must first sign up using the email address that NHS England – have recorded for you. Trying to sign up with any other email address means the sign up process will fail.
More Information on TSS and the Form R
The standard length of a training programme is defined in the curriculum. The standard length of the ophthalmology training programmes is 7 years.
Additional Training Time (ATT) awarded via an ARCP outcome 3 (or 10.2 if applicable) will be added at the point it is awarded and will extend that grade year and training level. ATT awarded is defined at the ARCP in Whole Time Equivalent (WTE) months.
The Gold Guide (paragraph 4.106) defines the maximum amount of additional training time that can be awarded:
| Extension to training time | Exceptional ATT approved by the Postgraduate Dean | Total ATT incl exceptional ATT | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Run-through training | 1 year | 1 year | 2 years |
The length of the programme is defined in Whole Time Equivalent (WTE) years, and is used to define your CCT date. For resident doctors who work Less Than Full Time (LTFT), your CCT date will be adjusted to reflect the WTE time you will complete.
| LTFT percentage | Number of months WTE of 1 year |
|---|---|
| Full Time (100%) | 12 months |
| 80% | 15 months |
| 70% | 17 months |
| 60% | 20 months |
| 50% | 24 months |
Completion of the training programme in less than the standard WTE time is considered acceleration of training.
As above, completion of a training programme in less than the standard WTE time is considered an acceleration of training.
For further information, please refer to the following:
ARCP Assessment Panel
14 January 2027
Cutoff date: Thursday 31 December 2027
ARCP Feedback Panel
4 February 2027 (morning)
Venue: Online via Microsoft Teams
Ad-hoc ARCPs and Interim Reviews for individual doctors may take place on other dates, affected doctors will be notified by email.
Please note that the above dates are subject to change; if there are any amendments these will be reflected on the website as soon as possible.
Last updated 9 October 2026