Qualifications for Contact Lens Opticians

In March 2022, our Council approved new education and training requirements for GOC-approved qualifications in Contact Lens.

The new Requirements, effective from 1 April 2022, can be seen below:

Requirements for Approved Qualifications for Contact Lens Opticians

Applying for, or adapting, to the new requirements

If you are seeking to gain approval or to adapt an existing qualification in Contact Lens, please first contact the Education Team via education@optical.org to discuss the process and for further information.

All the documents and associated forms and templates that you will need for this process are available below.

Forms

Prospective providers of unapproved qualifications in Contact Lens should use the below form (1C) and guidance notes to apply for qualification approval in accordance with the Requirements (1 April 2023):

Form 1C (for contact lens)

Existing providers of currently approved qualifications in Contact Lens should use the below form (2C) to notify the GOC of proposed adaptations to, or teach out of, existing GOC-approved qualifications to meet the Requirements (1 April 2020):

Form 2C (for contact lens)

Evidence Framework

The Evidence Framework provides guidance for providers of approved qualifications, Education Visitors, the GOC Education Team and decision-makers:

GOC Evidence Framework

Templates

The following are a series of submission templates, designed to support current or prospective providers of GOC-approved qualifications to record and submit evidence to demonstrate how they meet, or intend to meet, the Standards for Approved Qualifications and Outcomes for Approved Qualifications outlined in the Requirements (1 April 2023):

Templates Library & Guidance

Template 1 - Introduction to Qualification

Template 2 - Criteria Narrative

Template 3 - Qualification Diagram

Template 4 - Assessment Strategy

Template 5 - Module Outcome Map

Template 6 - Outcomes Narrative

Template 7 - List of Supplementary Documentation

Template 8 - Programme History

Decision form

This form will be used internally by the GOC to track decisions for qualifications seeking to gain GOC approval. This applies to new qualifications and existing qualifications being adapted to the new requirements:

Decision Form