Shaped by members: informing the AOP’s CPD reform response

The AOP has responded to the General Optical Council’s (GOC) proposed reforms to continuing professional development (CPD), placing member insight at the centre to ensure that the profession’s views are reflected.

The consultation, which was opened by the GOC in January, detailed aims to modernise CPD for optometrists and dispensing opticians by moving from a points-based system to an outcomes-focused approach, designed to give registrants more flexibility to tailor learning to their role, scope of practice and career stage

The AOP submitted a formal response to the consultation before it closed earlier this month (19 April). In creating its response, which is now published and can be read on the AOP’s website, the Association sought the views and opinions of its membership in a range of ways, including through discussions at Council as well as its membership and policy committees, and through CPD sessions and a dedicated survey.

AOP clinical and policy director, Dr Peter Hampson, explained to OT: “The AOP always bases its statements on member opinions.”

“Being able to quote our member opinions gives our responses more authority, and should be regarded as helpful by the GOC, if they choose to pay attention to them,” he added.

In the AOP’s response, while it acknowledges that most other health professions already have the sort of freedom that the GOC is proposing, and understands that many members find the current system for recording CPD bureaucratic, it emphasised the need for the regulator to provide structure and clarity for registrants as it moves forward with its plans.

The AOP’s member survey garnered 752 responses, which Hampson said was a “very good number that can be relied upon to be statistically significant.”

Central to its findings was a question around members’ confidence in the GOC’s proposed new system.

AOP head of education and OT clinical editor, Dr Ian Beasley, shared: “Member engagement broadly reveals a cautiously supportive response to the potential shift to a more outcomes-based CPD system.”

Beasley told OT that “while there is interest in moving away from a bureaucratic, points-based system towards a more flexible model, confidence in self-directed learning is mixed, and most respondents describe themselves as only moderately confident, with a significant proportion expressing low confidence.”

He said that the caution shared through members is driven by concerns about unclear expectations, lack of guidance on what constitutes sufficient CPD, and variability in workplace support, “all of which create reticence about navigating a less structured system.”

A changing employer role

In the consultation, the GOC also proposed a stronger role for optical businesses in supporting CPD, with the regulator stepping back from approving and auditing providers.

Hampson highlighted that through the AOP’s survey, the Association aimed to gather an understanding about if practitioners have systems where they work to support their learning and development, such as regular conversations about their progress and learning needs.

“That showed a very wide range of experiences, with a majority of the employers who responded saying that they did not have systems in place,” he shared.

Commenting on how realistic this expectation could be, given variation across the sector, Beasley said it is “only partially realistic.”

He explained: “While some larger organisations have structured development systems, many practices are small, lack formal HR processes, or employ only one registrant, making employer-led CPD support impractical.

Beasley emphasised that: “Locums – who make up a substantial portion of the workforce – often have little to no access to workplace-based support. The AOP stresses that any system must not rely heavily on employers and should instead remain flexible and proportionate to reflect different working environments.”

Consequently, in the AOP’s response to the GOC, it wanted to emphasise this wide range of experience, “probably more so than in most other health professions,” said Hampson.

Hampson said through its response the AOP wanted to “explain that the GOC can't necessarily rely on employers to provide the structures for learning and development that might be expected in, for example, NHS settings.”

Speaking to OT after the AOP submitted its response, Beasley described that from the AOP’s perspective, overall, greater professional freedom is desirable, “but only if it is underpinned by clear and practical guidance from the GOC.”

“While there is strong support for shifting the focus from quantity to quality and allowing more flexibility, this must not come at the expense of clarity,” he stressed, adding: “The AOP emphasises that registrants will need clear expectations, examples of what good looks like and guidance on evidence for audit purposes.”

“The preferred balance is, therefore, a system that avoids rigid targets but still provides structured support, indicative benchmarks that take into account different roles and workplace settings,” he concluded.

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GOC consultation on reforms to CPD for optometrists and dispensing opticians

Our response to the GOC's consultation, April 2026