Oliver McGowan Training on Learning Disabilities & Autism for Dorset General Practice.

Please find information below about the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disabilities and Autism, for staff working in general practice in Dorset.

This is a central place for accessing information and booking your Oliver McGowan Training requirements in Dorset. 

The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism is the government’s preferred and recommended training for the health and social care sector after the Health and Care Act 2022 introduced a requirement that regulated service providers must ensure their staff receive learning disability and autism training appropriate to their role.

For more information visit: The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism

Training is being delivered locally by People First Forum, a respected charity led by people with learning disabilities, through their project Led By Inclusion.

Each workshop is led by an experienced and accredited team of trainers, whose lived experience of learning disability or lived experience of autism creates insight into a practical and meaningful learning experience.

Follow the steps below to ensure you (and your staff) have undertaken the correct levels of training. 

Please note – The Oliver McGowan training is being provided for free for general practice staff. However, there is a minimum of one week’s notice required for cancellations so that we have sufficient time to offer your place to another participant. Failure to attend without prior notice will result in a charge.

​You will need to register on the NHS England E-learning for Healthcare (ELFH) platform on the link below, and then complete the training.

The training takes about 90 minutes to complete.

Everyone needs to do this e-learning online before attending further training.

​Once completed, you can book onto either

  • Tier 1 (1 hour webinar)

or

  • Tier 2 (1 Day face-to-face training)

Find out more about these below.

Tier 1 training is for health and social care workers who have no patient or service user contact within their role and require a general awareness of the support autistic people or people with a learning disability may need.

This is a one hour online interactive session co-delivered by a person with a learning disability and an autistic person along with a facilitator.

You must have completed the E-Learning from NHS England before doing Tier One. See the information above.

Tier 1 dates – click to book on via Eventbrite:

Tier 2 one day face-to-face training is for all staff members involved in providing care and support for individuals with learning disabilities and autism. is for people who are patient facing, and have direct contact with patients.

Tier 2 requires all delegates to have completed Part 1 E-Learning from NHS England. See information above.

Tier 2 booking dates coming soon.

We will have two sessions running for this face-to-face training.

Lunch is provided.

Click to book on via Eventbrite:

If you have any questions about the Oliver McGowan training, please contact: dgpa@dorsetgp.nhs.uk.

You can also visit NHS England’s The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training webpages.

Thank you to People First Forum for partnering with us and providing this training.

Training Hub Prospectuses

Dorset Primary Care Training Hub Administration Prospectus 2026 – Admin Prospectus

Dorset Training Hub CPD Prospectus 2026 – Clinical Prospectus 2026

Fully Funded Primary Care 1-day CPD course – 13th May 2026

UoE Principles of Primary Care

Please find link to further information and course booking page below:

Principles of Primary Care CPD Course | Faculty of Health and Life Sciences | University of Exeter

This course is fully funded for NHS staff working in Primary Care.

Fully Funded Bournemouth University Courses – Spaces Remaining

Start DateUNITAPPLICATION DEADLINEAPPLICATION LINKSpaces Remaining
28/04/2026DETERIORATING ADULT PATIENT – RECOGNITION & MANAGEMENT17/03/2026https://www.applycpd-bu.com/course?id=1205481
11/05/2026ENHANCED ASSESSMENT SKILLS FOR CLINICAL PRACTICE30/03/2026https://www.applycpd-bu.com/course?id=1205363
14/05/2026NON MEDICAL PRESCRIBING UPDATE30/04/2026https://www.applycpd-bu.com/course?id=1205147
02/06/2026BLOOD TEST ANALYSIS19/05/2026https://www.applycpd-bu.com/course?id=1205664
11/06/2026INDEPENDENT AND SUPPLEMENTARY PRESCRIBING (BU5)30/04/2026https://www.applycpd-bu.com/course?id=1205643

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The Advanced Practice Community of Practice Network meets monthly via Teams offering an opportunity for all Advanced Practitioners to network across PCN’s. Each session hosts a speaker to deliver an education session to the network members. To become a member please register here:

Advanced Practice Community of Practice

General Practice Nurse Community of Practice & Education

The GPN Community of Practice meets reguarly via Teams offering an opportunity for all General Practice Nurses to network across PCN’s. To become a member please register here:

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Introduction to Violence Prevention and Reduction

NHS England (NHSE) in collaboration with the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) have developed an eLearning course which aims to provide colleagues with an introduction to a public health and trauma-informed approach to preventing and reducing violence against staff working in health and care settings.

NHS England expects all parts of the NHS to commit to preventing and reducing the risk of violence towards staff and supporting their health and wellbeing in line with the ‘We are safe and healthy’ NHS People Promise. This in turn will improve staff experience, retention and ultimately patient care.

This course was developed based on an identified training need for staff, and will also bridge a knowledge gap for those embarking on RSPH’s Violence Prevention and Reduction (VPR) educational pathway.

This course is for staff working in health and care settings who have a role in reducing and preventing violence against our staff, or for those who are working in ‘at risk’ environments.

The course was piloted with staff across England who found the course “enjoyable” and “useful” and 88% of whom would recommend it to a colleague or friend.

Over one-hour of learning time trainees will achieve the following learning outcomes:

  • Identify the key policy and legislative drivers for violence prevention and reduction in healthcare settings.
  • Understand and describe the individual, situational and environmental factors that can cause violence.
  • Describe how using public health and trauma informed approaches can prevent violence at individual and community level.
  • Explore a range of best practice approaches that can be used by individuals, teams and organisations to minimise the risk or impact of violence.

Contact vprpathway@rsph.org.uk to enquire about RSPH’s VPR courses.

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