The Workforce Development Programme is a programme funded by NHS England covering a number of projects aimed at developing and securing the orthoptic workforce throughout the UK both now and in the future.
Started in March 2024, the projects run through until the Spring of 2025. Below you can find a brief overview of the aims of each project along with links to further information.
We also have a live document here, showing the latest updates for each project.
1. Refraction and Hospital Eye Services (HES)
This project is developing the evidence base to make the case for orthoptists to be able to prescribe glasses within hospital eye services. Extending the role of orthoptists in this way would improve the patient experience by improving efficiencies and providing more timely care.
2. Career Development Framework
Working with the Creative Health Alliance, we’re co-creating a contemporary, inclusive Career Development Framework to help us articulate, promote and support learning and career progression across all career levels and roles within the Four Pillars of Practice. Find out more
3. Enhanced Clinical Practice
This project will develop the framework for orthoptic enhanced clinical practice (ECP), drawing on our previous scoping work and the existing schemas and work undertaken in other professions. The production of the schema will articulate what enhanced practice is in orthoptics and enable higher education institutions to develop ECP programmes of study for orthoptists.
4. Support Workforce Project
This project aims to develop resources and provide support for existing orthoptic support workers, enhancing their roles in practice-based learning and clinical service delivery. It also seeks to raise the visibility of support workers by showcasing successful models of practice and highlighting the significant value they bring to the orthoptic profession. Through these efforts, the project promotes best practices and advocates for the recognition and integration of support workers in professional settings.
5. Workforce Report
Making use of the extensive data from our workforce survey, we will produce an analysis of the current orthoptic workforce, identifying trends, challenges, and opportunities to inform future workforce planning.
6. Preceptorship
This is a scoping exercise, exploring the experiences of early-career orthoptists with the support currently offered. This will lead to a report with profession-specific recommendations to enhance the structured support and guidance for newly qualified orthoptists transitioning into professional practice, fostering confidence and competence in core orthoptic practice.
7. Academic Educator Capacity
This project seeks to identify and address barriers to pursuing academic careers in orthoptics. It aims to generate greater interest in this career path by providing enhanced support for prospective applicants and exploring new pathways for individuals to gain the necessary experience. This includes developing opportunities such as specialized courses or secondments, enabling aspiring educators to build the skills needed to successfully apply for lecturer positions and contribute to the future of orthoptic education.
8. Common Placement Assessment Tool
Following a scoping exercise as part of our previous workforce development programme, we are producing a standardised tool for use across all orthoptic departments to assess student performance during clinical placements. The results will be applicable across all higher education institutions, ensuring consistent and fair evaluation for all students.
9. Band 5/6 Run-through
This project will support orthoptists transitioning from Band 5 through to Band 6 roles, providing guidance on the competencies required and available training, to offer a more consistent approach to development opportunities across the profession.
10. Re-Launch of Clinical Placement Expansion Project (CPEP)
Building on the success of the original CPEP initiative, the HoloLens and PERL Project aims to further enhance clinical learning experiences for orthoptic students and professionals. The initial project utilized HoloLens2 goggles for live patient assessments and created a repository of recorded assessments in the PERL (Placement Expansion Resource Library) to support student learning and professional development. The re-launch seeks to expand participation from more hospital sites, increasing the availability of high-quality online resources to enrich the educational journey of orthoptic students and advance clinical skills across the profession. Find out more and get involved
11. Website Development Project
We are working to refresh the look and structure of the BIOS website to deliver a more structured and user-friendly experience. This project aims to enhance the site’s content and organisation to offer comprehensive information and resources, with a particular focus on career development and increasing visibility. Find out more
12. Pre-Registration Apprenticeship
We are developing a structured apprenticeship pathway for those entering the orthoptic profession, combining academic learning with practical experience.
13. Advanced Clinical Practice
This project will develop a comprehensive resource on our website to clearly define Advanced Clinical Practice (ACP) within the orthoptic profession. This project will focus on explaining the core components, roles, and scope of ACP, as well as highlighting the advanced knowledge, skills and leadership required for practitioners. It aims to provide clear guidance on pathways to achieving ACP status, showcase successful case studies, and outline the impact of ACP on patient care and service delivery. This initiative will serve as a central hub for information, supporting orthoptists in advancing their clinical practice and professional development.
14. Improving Equality and Diversity
We are implementing a comprehensive EDI strategy and initiatives to promote inclusivity within the orthoptic profession, ensuring equal opportunities and representation for all.
Workforce Development Programme 2022-23
The initial Workforce Development Programme was a programme funded by Health Education England which enhanced BIOS’s capacity for developing and securing the orthoptic workforce throughout the UK both now and in the future.
We teamed up with our colleagues from the British Dietetic Association (BDA) to deliver a number of ambitious and exciting projects between March 2022 and July 2023, many of which have been continued into the current projects.
Read our full final report here.