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The Foundation Training Year (FTY) is a new structure for training optometrists in Scotland. It will replace the current pre-registration model and will be undertaken by students participating in the new integrated Master’s degree in optometry in Scotland. The first students are expected to enter the FTY in summer 2028. Under the current proposal, each student would complete two 22-week placements.

Update: 9 September 2026

PSD Scotland has advised Optometry Scotland that the Foundation Training Year Expression of Interest is due to launch to the profession on 10 September 2026.

The updated Placement Provider Terms confirm that the FTY will comprise two 24-week placement blocks, rather than the previously proposed 22-week blocks. Practices would employ and pay students for four days per week, normally 30 to 32 hours, with a protected learning and development day on the fifth day. Separate funding will also be available for mandatory Clinical Supervisor training.

The change to 24-week placements increases the period for which practices would meet employment and supervision costs by two weeks per block, while the overall £4,644 placement grant remains unchanged. OS is seeking clarification on how annual leave will be incorporated into the 24-week period and whether the additional costs have been accounted for within the financial model.

OS has written to Gillian Leslie, Deputy Director of Dentistry and Optometry at the Scottish Government, seeking urgent clarification on the outstanding issues and confirmation that the proposal will be reviewed if the EOI does not demonstrate sufficient and geographically representative participation.

OS’s position and advice to practices remain unchanged.

Our position

Optometry Scotland supports the Foundation Training Year (FTY) and is committed to helping secure a model that can deliver high-quality training and attract sufficient placements across Scotland.

Following sustained engagement by OS and the wider sector, the Scottish Government has confirmed that supervised GOS eye examinations carried out by FTY students will attract 100% of the applicable fee. We welcome this important progress.

Under the current proposal, the FTY will comprise two 24-week placement blocks. The host practice would employ and pay the student for four days per week, normally 30 to 32 hours, with the student undertaking protected learning and development activity on the fifth day.

Practices would receive 100% of the applicable GOS fee and an overall placement grant of £4,644 across the two placement blocks. Separate funding will also be available for mandatory Clinical Supervisor training. The Scottish Government has confirmed that there will be no separate practice payment beyond these arrangements.

A number of essential questions remain unresolved, including:

• the full employer costs and contractual responsibilities associated with hosting a student
• arrangements where a placement changes, is extended or ends early
• the practical supervision requirement, including the role and capacity of IP-qualified supervisors
• clinical governance, indemnity, accountability and responsibility for patient care
• the impact on consulting-room capacity and day-to-day practice operations
• matching, absence, leave, performance and learner-support arrangements
• whether the model is viable for independent, small, rural and remote practices
• the final implementation timetable
• financial viability for students requiring to relocate for placements

Until this information is available, practices cannot reliably assess the financial and operational implications of taking part.

OS does not recommend that practices complete and return the EOI at this stage. Although the EOI is described as non-binding, the EOI shared with OS only provides a mechanism for practices to indicate positive interest. It does not allow a practice to express conditional interest, explain that the current package would not be financially viable, identify changes that would enable participation, or record that it is unable to participate under the current model.

This means the EOI may not fully capture the sector’s potential capacity or the reasons why practices cannot indicate interest under the current proposal. 

The final decision remains with each business, but OS believes practices should have sufficient information to make a properly informed assessment before indicating that they may be able to host a placement. 

The responses received to date have not resolved the key employment, supervision, governance and viability questions. OS has written to Gillian Leslie, Deputy Director of Dentistry and Optometry at the Scottish Government, seeking urgent clarification on the outstanding issues and confirmation that the proposal will be reviewed if the EOI does not demonstrate sufficient and geographically representative participation. We will update members as soon as further information is confirmed.

For questions or to share evidence about how the proposed model would affect your practice, contact your OS representative, regional representative or email office@optometryscotland.org.uk. 

What is the Foundation Training Year?

The Foundation Training Year is a new structure for training optometrists in Scotland. It will replace the current pre-registration model and will be undertaken by students participating in the new integrated Master’s degree in optometry in Scotland. The first students are expected to enter the FTY in summer 2028. Under the current proposal, each student would complete two 24-week placements.

Why is the Scottish Government running an Expression of Interest?

The Scottish Government and PSD Scotland want to test how many practices may be willing and able to host FTY placements under the current proposal. The EOI is intended to provide an indication of potential placement capacity and has been described as non-binding. However, the draft shared with OS only allows a positive expression of interest. It does not allow practices to express conditional interest, decline and explain why, or identify changes that would make participation viable.

What is the current proposal?

Each student would complete two 24-week placements. The host practice would employ and pay the student on a full-time basis during its placement. The student would spend four days each week in practice, with the fifth day used for protected learning and development activity. Salary would be set by the employer, subject to employment law, with Scottish Government guidance that students should receive at least the real Living Wage. The practice would meet the associated employer costs. Supervised GOS eye examinations would attract 100% of the applicable fee, a supervisor grant would be available in line with current pre-registration grants, and there would be no separate practice payment.

What has the Scottish Government confirmed about the financial package?

The Scottish Government confirmed in writing on 29 July 2026 that supervised GOS eye examinations carried out by FTY students would attract 100% of the applicable fee. A supervisor grant equivalent to the current pre-registration trainee supervisor grant would also be available. The latest proposal describes a total grant of £4,644 to be split across the student’s two placements. The Scottish Government has confirmed that the GOS fees and supervisor grant represent the whole financial package, with no separate practice payment.

Would the practice employ the student?

Yes. The draft Terms of Participation indicate that the student would be employed and paid on a full-time basis by the host practice during its 24-week placement. The student would spend four days each week in practice, with the fifth day allocated to protected learning and development activity. The practice would be responsible for salary and the associated employer costs. The complete contractual, HR and placement-change arrangements have not yet been provided.

How could this affect my practice?

A participating practice would receive 100% of the applicable GOS fee for supervised student examinations and a supervisor grant. In return, it would be expected to employ and pay the student, meet the associated employer costs, provide the required supervision, accommodate the student within its consulting-room capacity, manage the relevant HR responsibilities, and comply with the placement and governance requirements. It is not currently possible to say confidently what the net financial and operational impact would be because important details remain unresolved.

What information is still outstanding?

OS continues to seek clarity on the full employer costs and responsibilities; the employment contract and HR arrangements; placement changes, extensions and early termination; supervision ratios, cover and IP capacity; clinical governance, indemnity and accountability; responsibility for patient care and student performance; matching and the ability to decline a proposed placement; absence, leave and learner support; consulting-room capacity; rural and remote delivery; and the final timetable and revised provider documentation.

What about IP supervision?

The new FTY is expected to require access to at least one IP-qualified supervisor across the student’s placements. This differs from the current pre-registration model, which does not require supervisors to be IP qualified. OS is seeking clarity on how the requirement will operate, whether sufficient capacity exists, the additional responsibility placed on IP-qualified supervisors, and whether this will be properly recognised within the funding arrangements.

Is the EOI binding?

The Scottish Government has described the EOI as non-binding. Expressing interest should not, by itself, commit a practice to hosting a student. However, the draft shared with OS only allows practices to indicate positive interest. There is no mechanism to decline and explain the reasons, express conditional interest, indicate that further information is required, identify that the current package would not be financially viable, or explain what changes would allow participation.

Does registering an interest, even just to stay informed, count as evidence that the sector supports the current model?

It may do. The Scottish Government has said the EOI is being used to gather evidence on genuine placement capacity, and any response you submit becomes part of that data, whether you registered to be kept updated or because you’re seriously considering hosting a placement. There’s currently no way to register purely for updates without also being counted towards that capacity evidence. If you want to stay informed without responding to the EOI, contact Optometry Scotland or your regional representative and we’ll keep you updated directly.

Why is OS advising practices not to complete the EOI?

The confirmation of 100% GOS answers one important question, but practices still lack essential information about employment costs and responsibilities, supervision, governance, indemnity, matching and day-to-day delivery. OS cannot responsibly recommend that members express positive interest when they do not yet have the information needed to assess whether participation would be financially and operationally viable. The EOI also does not provide an option to express conditional interest or explain that a practice might participate if the information or financial package changed.

What if I receive the EOI directly?

OS does not recommend that you complete and return the EOI at this stage. The draft only provides an option to express positive interest. There is no mechanism to decline, indicate conditional interest pending further information, or explain that participation would not be financially viable under the current package. The final decision remains with each business.

Does OS oppose the FTY?

No. OS supports the FTY and wants it to succeed. Our concern is that the delivery model must be sufficiently clear and workable to secure the number, range and geographic spread of placements Scotland will need. A model that does not attract sufficient practices could create risks for students, the profession and the future optometry workforce.

What has OS done so far?

OS has engaged with the Scottish Government and delivery partners since 2025. We have provided financial modelling and practice activity data, gathered provider evidence, set out the need for 100% GOS compared with Scottish Governments initial offer of 35%, submitted detailed written questions and delivery risks, met the Scottish Government and PSD Scotland, participated in the FTY Stakeholder Group, requested sight of the draft EOI, and pressed for practices to receive sufficient information and time before responding. OS welcomed the move to 100% GOS, but the responses received to date have not resolved the key employment, supervision, governance and viability questions.

When will members hear more?

OS will update members as soon as further information is received from the Scottish Government or PSD Scotland. We will also review the final EOI when it is issued and confirm whether there have been any material changes from the draft shared with OS. The website page will carry the latest dated position.

How can I help?

Please share evidence about the likely financial or operational impact on your practice with your OS representative, regional representative or office@optometryscotland.org.uk. This will help OS demonstrate the real delivery implications of the current model.

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