Educators are the backbone of healthcare education and training, delivering vital learning experiences in universities and colleges as well as across the frontline - for example in NHS hospitals, neighbourhood hubs, general practices, dental practices, community pharmacies, clinics and community services.
About our NHS educator work
Every day, thousands of dedicated educator colleagues work alongside the colleagues they train, combining clinical knowledge with teaching expertise to to support learning in the workplace.
High-quality education and training are vital to delivering safe, effective patient care in today's NHS. This will be even more critical for meeting tomorrow's healthcare needs. Our future NHS workforce depends on having enough skilled educators in services, education institutions, and in organisational cultures where they can thrive.
Educator Workforce Strategy
The Educator Workforce Strategy (published March 2023), sets out a vision to value, expand and develop the NHS educator workforce across all professions and settings. It recognises the vital role educators play in supporting high-quality learning and workforce development. It also highlights the importance of creating organisational cultures where educators have protected time, access to resources and recognition within workforce planning.
The strategy encourages environments where educators can develop through clear career paths, build their capabilities, feel valued for their contribution and maintain their wellbeing. We want the NHS to be an inclusive workplace that welcomes diversity and innovation, while also growing and retaining our talented educators.
This national programme strategy is a key priority forwithin NHS England’sEngland's Workforce, Training and Education Directorate and supports delivery of, supporting the 10-Year Health Plan for the NHS and the NHS England Education Quality Framework.
It brings colleagues together to strengthen healthcare education across England, working closely with many partners to ensure success, including:
- healthcare regulators
- professional councils
- education providers
- students and learners
- social care organisations
- NHS employer organisations
- professional bodies
- government departments
- partners across the UK
By collaborating across all healthcare professions and settings throughout England, we're building a stronger workforce for now and in the future.
While the NHS Educator Workforce Strategy focuses primarily on educators in NHS delivered services, the work is also creating valuable partnerships with social care, universities and further education colleges. This will ensure there is sufficient expertise across all settings to create stronger connections between clinical and academic teaching environments.
View the Educator Workforce Strategy
What the strategy aims to do
The Educator Workforce Strategy will work to:
- ensure we have enough high-quality educators to train and develop our current and future NHS workforce
- ensure education and training is recognised as fundamental to safe, effective care, with educators integrated into NHS service planning and delivery
- build an educator workforce that reflects the diversity of healthcare professionals and the communities they serve
- increase visibility and understanding of the crucial contribution educators make across the NHS
- help NHS staff recognise and develop their educator skills
- create clear career paths for educators
- ensure educators have protected time and resources to teach and develop their skills
- promote wellbeing and equality, diversity and inclusion in healthcare education
- ensure that all educators feel included and are treated equitably
- support innovative and technology-enhanced healthcare education
Join the educator workforce community space on NHS Futures
Seven educator strategy priorities
The strategy focuses on seven key priorities:
1. integrating educator roles in service planning - making sure educators are included in all workforce planning
2. protected time - ensuring educators have dedicated time and resources for their role
3. career frameworks - creating clear career paths for all educators
4. support and development - providing training and wellbeing support for educators
5. educator workforce principles - ensuring consistent standards for education are implemented across the NHS
6. equality, diversity and inclusion - building a diverse educator workforce that represents our communities
7. innovation - developing new teaching methods and digital learning approaches
As organisations implement the Educator Workforce Strategy, they are encouraged to use and promote existing education quality processes and established sources of evidence, including the National Education and Training Survey (NETS), the Educator Voice Survey, the Provider Self-Assessment and workforce information to establish baselines, monitor progress, demonstrate impact and drive continuous improvement in educator support and development. These measures can provide valuable insight into educator capacity, access to protected time and development opportunities, educator wellbeing, and the quality of learning environments. Through existing education quality and regional governance arrangements, organisations can review this evidence, identify gaps, target improvement activity, demonstrate progress against the Educator Workforce Strategy and strengthen accountability, while avoiding unnecessary additional reporting requirements.
For further information contact the Education Quality team at england.wte.quality@nhs.net
The term ‘Educator’
We use 'Educator' as an inclusive term encompassing all roles involved in healthcare workforce development across all settings.
This definition recognises that education and training occur in diverse environments, including universities, clinical settings, and across both regulated and non-regulated healthcare professions, at pre- and post-registration levels.
While different professions use varied terminology (workplace supervisors, assessors, practice educators, clinical supervisors, faculty members, preceptorship leads, educational supervisors, etc.), all these individuals share a crucial responsibility: supporting healthcare workforce development through education, supervision, and assessment to ensure patient safety and high-quality care.
Visit the defining NHS educators webpage
Real stories from NHS educators
Meet NHS educators as they share their career journeys, offer practical advice and showcase best practice to support the development of educators and the wider NHS workforce in their area.
Real stories from NHS educators
Useful information
- NHS Educator Workforce Strategy
- defining NHS educators
- educator career frameworks
- NHS England education quality function
- educator voice survey
- educator principles and standards
- equality, diversity and inclusion for educators
- join the educator workforce community space
- National Education Training Survey (NETs)
- NHS England’s Education Funding Agreement
- Education Quality Framework
- primary care educators