Free teaching courses for doctors do exist — but as of September 2026 we could not find a single free course that is CPD accredited, issues a certificate, and delivers the live teaching hours that IMT’s self-assessment framework asks for. Free is a fine way to learn. It is an unreliable way to score an application point.
If you are teaching for the sake of teaching, start free. If you need evidence for IMT, CST or an ST3 application this round, read the criterion below before you book anything — including a paid course.
What “free” actually gets you
Search “free teach the teacher course” and you will find three different things wearing the same label. They are not equivalent, and only one of them is a course in the sense an assessor means.
| Free route | What it actually is | Certificate | Live hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| NHS e-learning | e-Learning for Healthcare’s Educator Training Resources — five courses, 50+ sessions on supervision, teaching methods and assessment. Free, but NHS OpenAthens login only. | Varies — e-LfH issues certificates only for programmes where it is enabled | None — asynchronous |
| Deanery and trust study days | Local “teaching the teachers” sessions. Genuinely good, genuinely free — and shrinking. NHS England Wessex withdrew its in-house Teach the Teacher courses for resident doctors from 1 April 2026. | Usually attendance only | Yes — if you can get a place, and a day off |
| Free webinars and MOOCs | Training-company webinars (usually the front end of a sales funnel) and university MOOCs. FutureLearn’s clinical-teaching courses are free to join on limited access. | Paid upgrade — FutureLearn states plainly that free limited access does not include a certificate | Rarely |
Checked 16 September 2026. Free provision changes without notice — verify before you rely on any of it.
The criterion that decides this: six hours of live teaching
Most comparisons of free and paid courses argue about quality. The IMT self-assessment framework does not. It sets a duration and a delivery method, and a course either meets them or it doesn’t.
“Training should be delivered with a duration of at least six hours (i.e. a one-day course) of synchronous (live) teaching time.”
Source: imtrecruitment.org.uk, application scoring. Three points are reserved for a university-accredited PG Cert or diploma. Note what is not in the criterion: CPD accreditation is not required — live hours are.
Read literally, that rules out every asynchronous option on this page, free or paid. A self-paced e-learning programme, however thorough, is not synchronous teaching time. It also rules out a good number of £145–£199 online-only paid courses, which is the part providers tend not to advertise.
Two cautions. First, this is the IMT framework — ST3 is not one framework. Each specialty publishes its own self-assessment guidance, and the wording differs. Second, the 2026 guidance is what is published today; IMT says it will be updated for the 2027 round in autumn 2026 and is expected to be largely unchanged. Confirm your own specialty and year before you book. Our guide to teaching points for IMT and ST3 applications covers the wider domain.
Is there a free teach the teacher course with a certificate?
Not one we can find that a UK doctor could use as application evidence. The nearest thing is e-LfH’s Educator Training Resources: free at the point of use, respectable content, but NHS-login gated, asynchronous, not accredited by a body such as The CPD Certification Service, and with certificate availability that varies by programme.
The honest summary is that “free” and “certificated and accredited and live” do not currently overlap. Where a free course does carry CPD accreditation — some MOOCs do — the certificate itself sits behind a paywall, which makes it a cheap course rather than a free one.
The hidden costs of free
1Nothing to attach
IMT asks for two things: a completion certificate, and a course outline confirming duration and delivery method. A webinar you watched gives you neither. If you cannot evidence a scored achievement, the application does not proceed.
2Fragmented coverage
An hour here and a lunchtime session there will not cover adult learning theory, objective setting, feedback models, lesson planning and teaching in bedside, small-group and large-group settings. A structured course does that in sequence.
3Dates you don’t control
Free study days run when the deanery runs them. That is rarely the fortnight before a self-assessment closes, and rarely a day your rota gives you.
4Your time, uncosted
Assembling a syllabus yourself from free material takes longer than completing a structured course, and leaves you with less to show. A locum day is worth more than most course fees.
Free vs paid: side by side
| Factor | Free options | Paid accredited course |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | £0 (certificate sometimes extra) | £145–£610 depending on format and provider |
| Depth of content | Fragmented; hours vary | Full syllabus, typically 12 CPD points |
| CPD accreditation | Rare | Standard |
| Certificate for your portfolio | Often none | Formal certificate |
| Course outline for evidence | Usually unavailable | Published |
| Six live hours (IMT criterion) | Deanery days only | Only if the course includes a live day — check |
| Flexibility | Fixed dates, or scattered self-study | Self-paced, plus a booked live date |
| ErudicalBoth | — | £199 for 20 self-paced modules (12+ hours, six weeks’ access) and a full live online day, 09:00–17:00, with 6 hours of live teaching. CPD accredited, provider 13684. |
The point is the same. What comes after it is not. A free course that meets the criterion scores the same 1 point for training in teaching as a paid one. The presentations domain is worth up to 8 more for IMT 2027, and no free or paid competitor includes a venue to earn them. Erudical enrolment includes a place at NMERC 2026, a national online conference where you can present oral or poster work.
Both formats, one price. The self-paced course covers the syllabus; the live day covers the synchronous hours. £199 for the pair, with a certificate after the live day.
See the course and datesWhen free is genuinely the right choice
Three situations where paying would be the wrong call:
- You are not applying. If you want to teach better and no self-assessment is involved, e-LfH and your local teaching programme will take you a long way for nothing.
- Your deanery still runs a course. If a free, full-day, in-house Teach the Teacher day is on offer and you can get a place, take it — it meets the duration criterion and costs you nothing but the day. Ask for the certificate and the course outline in writing.
- You already hold a PG Cert. A short course adds nothing to your score; the three points are already yours.
If you are paying, what should it cost?
Paid courses in September 2026 run from about £145 for online-only to £610 for a royal college two-day course. Format, not brand, is what moves the price: online-only sits around £145–£199, commercial live courses around £159–£480, and college courses £399–£610 depending on membership. A detailed provider-by-provider breakdown is in our comparison of the best Teach the Teacher courses for doctors.
Before you pay for any of it, check whether you have to. Most UK trainees have a study budget, most never spend it on a teaching course, and a teaching course is usually an eligible claim. Our study budget guide sets out the sequence and gives you the emails to send.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free teach the teacher course for doctors?
There are free teaching-skills resources, but no free course we could find in September 2026 that is CPD accredited, issues a certificate and delivers live teaching hours. The closest free option is e-Learning for Healthcare’s Educator Training Resources, which is free but requires an NHS login and is entirely self-paced.
Do free courses give you a certificate?
Sometimes, and not reliably. e-LfH issues completion certificates only for programmes where that has been enabled. Deanery study days often give attendance confirmation rather than a certificate. FutureLearn states that its free limited-access option does not include a certificate at all — you pay to upgrade.
Will a free course score the IMT teaching point?
Only if it meets the criterion. IMT’s 2026 self-assessment awards one point for training in teaching delivered with at least six hours of synchronous, live teaching time, evidenced by a certificate and a course outline. A free full-day deanery course can qualify. A free webinar or self-paced e-learning module does not.
Does the course have to be CPD accredited?
IMT’s criterion does not require CPD accreditation — it specifies duration and live delivery. Accreditation is still worth having: it is an independent quality signal, and some specialties and employers ask for it. Treat it as necessary but not sufficient, and check the live hours separately.
Is an online-only paid course enough?
For IMT as written, an entirely asynchronous course does not meet the six-hour synchronous requirement, whatever it cost. If you are buying an online-only course, confirm what live element it includes before you pay. For other specialties, check that specialty’s own self-assessment guidance — the wording is not standardised.
How much does a paid course cost in 2026?
Roughly £145–£199 for online-only, £159–£480 for commercial live courses, and £399–£610 for royal college courses depending on membership. Erudical is £199 for a 20-module self-paced course plus a full live online day.
Can I claim a course on my study budget instead of paying myself?
Often, yes — amounts, eligible categories and deadlines are set locally by your deanery, so nothing is guaranteed. Our study budget guide explains the sequence, the paperwork you will be asked for and where to check your own policy.
What if I only want to become a better teacher?
Then free is a reasonable starting point. Use e-LfH’s educator resources, take whatever your trust runs, and teach regularly with feedback. Buy a course when you need evidence, not before.
The bottom line
“Free versus paid” is the wrong frame. The question is whether what you complete produces the two things an assessor asks for — a certificate, and a course outline showing enough live hours — and whether you will actually finish it before the self-assessment closes. A free deanery day does that. A free webinar does not, however good it was. Most paid online-only courses do not either, which is why the live component matters more than the price tag.
Need the certificate and the live hours in one booking? Erudical’s Teach the Teacher course is £199 for the self-paced modules and a full live online day, CPD accredited, built by doctors for doctors.
Enrol — £199Prices, free-course availability and the IMT self-assessment wording checked 16 September 2026. Frameworks are revised annually — always confirm against your own specialty’s current guidance.