Enrolment

Eligibility criteria

Note that, due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020/21 pre-registration trainees will not be able to enrol onto the Scheme until 1 September 2020.

To enrol as a pre-registration trainee you must :

• have a degree in optometry of at least a lower second class honours standard from an institution whose course is approved by the GOC for direct entry to pre-registration training
• have a valid Certificate of Clinical Competence (this is valid for two years from the date of the award of your degree, successful completion of the Optometry Progression Scheme or the last date of your enrolment as a pre-registration trainee). Normally a Certificate of Clinical Competence will be awarded to all trainees who graduate with a 2.2 grade or above
• be on the GOC Student Register, and remain on the register  throughout your Scheme for Registration training.

You have two years from the date you graduate, or complete the Optometry Progression Scheme, to enrol on the Scheme for Registration.

How to enrol 

If you comply with the eligibility criteria above, you can enrol on the Scheme by completing the online Scheme for Registration Enrolment Form at least seven working days prior to commencing your pre-reg placement. Your designated supervisor/s also complete(s) a section of the online enrolment form that will be sent to them via email.

Once you have completed the form, it will be submitted to the Education team for processing. Even after submitting the form, you are not yet enrolled as we have to carry out checks on your eligibility and assign you an assessor. Once you are enrolled, you will be sent a confirmation email stating you are enrolled. You will also be sent a link to the Scheme for Registration Handbook. If we are unable to process your enrolment form within seven working days we will contact you within that time to explain why and request any further information we require.

Please note that, until you have received the email notification confirming you are enrolled on the Scheme for Registration, you cannot see patients under supervision. You may carry out any work in practice that can legally be undertaken by an optical assistant but any dispenses you undertake in this period will not contribute to your numbers.

Next steps

Within seven working days of your supervisor accepting you as a trainee and of receiving your confirmed degree result, we will send you an email that will contain:

• your official start date. This will be the date we enrol you or the date your placement begins, whichever is later.  If the start date indicated on your form is prior to your enrolment, we will change your registered start date to reflect the date you were enrolled
• the name of your College assessor
• a link to the Scheme for Registration Handbook

If you've not heard within 7 working days, please check the application status of your enrolment form via your online college membership account. This will explain if there is any reason why we are unable to complete your enrolment. 

Please note that as of 1 June 2019, trainees and assessors will not receive a printed copy of the Scheme for Registration handbook.

Fee information

Privacy statement 

We will use your information to process your enrolment for the Scheme for Registration and to contact you about assessments and the OSCE during your time on the Scheme. 

We will share your name, practice address, contact phone number and email with College assessors. Your listed Pre-Registration supervisor/s will receive a copy of all your stage 1 and stage 2 work-based assessment reports, including results and feedback. We will share your final results at the end of the Scheme with the GOC, including if you are removed from the Scheme.

For the payment of the supervisor grants, we will share your name, your supervisor’s name, your practice address and the dates during which you are being supervised, with the NHS or the body processing the grants on their behalf. 

For the purposes of marking your work-based assessments and your OSCEs, we will enter your name and results into our assessment software. This information will only be accessed by the College and the software company in order to process your results.

We will only share your work-based assessment and OSCE results with your employers if you tell us to. 
 
We may need to share your name with examination venues for security purposes.

We will also contact you to let you know about College events related to the Scheme for Registration

In the event of an investigation which results in referral to the GOC under its fitness to practise proceedings, we will share the investigation documents and your assessment records and information with the GOC. We will not share your Scheme for Registration details with any other third parties

We will keep all data about your time on the Scheme for one year after you have qualified and then we will delete it. We will keep your final results in relation to your time on the Scheme for Registration in perpetuity. 

Scheme for Registration enrolment form