About this course
Welcome to this focused course on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) tailored for optical teams. This programme explains why EDI is a core safety control under GOC Standard 11 and gives you practical, defensible approaches to protect patients and colleagues from harm caused by exclusion, discrimination and poor psychological safety.
This course is relevant to the whole optical team.
CPD Time: 90 minutes (1.50 CE Credits)
Assessment: 10 MCQs. Pass mark 80%. more…
On passing the assessment you will immediately receive a CPD Certificate.
Customer feedback on this course
- Clear, practical and directly applicable to everyday practice.
- Excellent guidance on reasonable adjustments and contemporaneous records.
- Useful scenario scripts for bystander intervention and patient escalation.
- Well structured — legal framework linked to immediate workplace actions.
- Valuable for managers and clinical staff seeking defensible EDI processes.
Aim:
The aim of this course is to meet GOC Standard 11 by equipping optical staff and managers to protect patients, colleagues and others from harm through fair, inclusive and legally compliant workplace practices.
Course objective:
• to explain the legal and professional framework and to promote practical, proportionate measures for preventing and addressing discrimination, microaggressions and unconscious bias in optical practice.
Anticipated learning outcomes:
The learner will:
• define equality, diversity and inclusion in the context of optical practice.
• describe the nine protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.
• recognise discrimination, harassment, microaggressions and unconscious bias in workplace scenarios.
• apply inclusive behaviours and reasonable adjustments for colleagues and patients.
• document and escalate EDI-related safety concerns in governance logs with objective justification.
GOC Development Outcomes:
Standard 11
Learning content:
Why EDI Matters | Legal and Professional Framework | Scenario Page 1: Discrimination in Practice | Recognising Unfair Treatment | Scenario Page 2: Microaggressions and Unconscious Bias | Promoting Inclusive Practice | Scenario Page 3: Inclusive Workplace Practice | Challenging Discrimination and Harassment | Building a Culture of Fairness and Respect | Reflection and Continuous Improvement | MCQ and Knowledge Check | Reading List
View full course description
GOC Standard 11: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Optical Practice
Course Description
GOC Standard 11: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Optical Practice
This course helps optical professionals meet Standard 11 by explaining why EDI is essential for safe care and by giving practical tools to prevent and respond to exclusion, discrimination and poor psychological safety.
Why EDI Matters
This section frames EDI as a safety intervention. It covers the impact of exclusion on patient safety and staff wellbeing, microinequities and cognitive load, practical EDI levers that protect safety, and the importance of accountability and contemporaneous notes.
Legal and Professional Framework
Learn key points of the Equality Act 2010, the nine protected characteristics, GOC and NHS EDI expectations, Public Sector Equality Duty, vicarious liability, reasonable adjustments, UK GDPR intersections, and required policies and documentation.
Scenario Page 1: Discrimination in Practice
Work through recruitment bias and patient-refusal scenarios. Learn structured shortlisting, objective justification, de-escalation and documentation scripts, and reporting and governance actions.
Recognising Unfair Treatment
Define direct and indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation. Explore microaggressions, contextual indicators in optical settings, analytical steps to test for discrimination, and audit-based reviews.
Scenario Page 2: Microaggressions and Unconscious Bias
Recognise microaggression examples in staff interactions. Learn unconscious-bias mitigation, bystander and supervisor interventions, in-the-moment correction scripts and system fixes such as recruitment design and signage.
Promoting Inclusive Practice
Practical guidance on respectful language, adjustments for disabled, neurodiverse and D/deaf or D/blind people, culturally sensitive practices, transparent access to training, and templates for documenting adjustments.
Scenario Page 3: Inclusive Workplace Practice
Case studies on accommodating assistive technology, rota planning for cultural and religious observance, collaborative problem-solving and trial reviews, procurement and IT/IG compatibility, and decision logs with objective justification.
Challenging Discrimination and Harassment
Scripts for respectful challenge, escalation routes and speak-up options, support measures, trauma-informed investigation principles, confidentiality and learning actions.
Building a Culture of Fairness and Respect
Leadership behaviours, routine EDI prompts, data-driven monitoring, embedding EDI into audits and supervision, workforce sustainability and psychological safety strategies.
Reflection and Continuous Improvement
Use a structured reflective cycle, pulse surveys and measurement tools, assign owners and review dates for actions, deploy micro-interventions and longer projects, and embed EDI in onboarding and appraisals.
MCQ and Knowledge Check
Ten multiple-choice questions test application of course principles to scenarios, legal and practical reasoning, and core safety links.
Reading List
Key legal and guidance documents (Equality Act, EHRC, GOC), Accessible Information Standard, reasonable-adjustment resources, speak-up and just-culture material, and measurement frameworks (WRES, WDES).
Practice Application
Apply templates and scripts immediately: run a short micro-learning huddle, trial an adjustment plan, audit one governance area, and record anonymised learning linked to review dates.
Course Completion
Participants will complete a feedback survey, take a multiple-choice exam, and receive a CPD certificate. The course emphasises reflection and the application of EDI checks in governance, recruitment and daily team routines.
You can copy and adapt this example PDP entry for your own needs and circumstances.
| PDP Learning or Maintenance need |
| Understanding and applying EDI obligations in optical practice. |
| How does this relate to my field of practice? |
| Supports safer, fairer patient care and staff wellbeing by reducing discrimination, improving reporting and strengthening team functioning. |
| Which development outcome(s) does it link to? |
| GOC Standard 11 |
| What benefit will this have to my work? |
| Improved incident recognition and escalation, fairer recruitment and rota practices, and better support for reasonable adjustments. |
| How will I meet this learning or maintenance need? |
| Complete this course and apply structured EDI checks in governance, recruitment and day-to-day team routines. |
| When will I complete the activity? |