About this course
GOC Standard 11: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Optical Practice
[podcast mini /media/goc-standard-11-edi-intro.mp3]
Every one of us has experienced a moment where we felt either fully included—or quietly left out. In healthcare, those moments matter far more than we sometimes realise. A patient who feels dismissed may not disclose vital details. A colleague who feels unsafe may hold back concerns that could prevent an error. Inclusion isn’t just about fairness—it’s a clinical safety measure.
GOC Standard 11 makes equality, diversity and inclusion a professional duty, but beyond compliance, it’s about creating workplaces where respect is routine and safety flows naturally from trust. When roles are allocated fairly, when adjustments are made transparently, when every voice is welcome, patient care becomes stronger and mistakes become less likely.
This course will give you straightforward tools—ready-to-use scripts, templates, and decision aids—to help you embed EDI into daily practice. By applying them, you’ll build not just a compliant workplace, but a safer, more resilient and genuinely supportive one—for both patients and colleagues.
Equality, diversity and inclusion are essential to professionalism in optics. This course explores how to recognise and challenge bias, respect difference, and create an inclusive environment for patients and colleagues alike. With practical strategies, you will be equipped to meet GOC Standard 11 with confidence.
This course is relevant to the whole optical team, including
- Registered optical professionals wanting reliable CPD mapped to GOC Standards
- Locums, jobseekers, and overseas practitioners needing to demonstrate current knowledge
- Colleagues addressing professional challenges who require structured CPD for reflection and remediation
- Managers and teams who want consistent, defensible training
CPD Time: 60 minutes (1 CE Credit / 1 Non-interactive CPD Point)
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 objectives:
- Provide clear teaching on the legal and professional framework for equality, diversity, and inclusion, including the Equality Act 2010 and GOC expectations.
- Deliver practical tools, scripts, and scenarios to help learners recognise discrimination and bias, apply inclusive behaviours, and document and escalate concerns appropriately.
Anticipated learning outcomes:
On course completion you will be able to:
- Define equality, diversity, and inclusion (Standard 11) in the context of optical practice, including the nine protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.
- Recognise discrimination, harassment, microaggressions, and unconscious bias (Standard 11) in everyday workplace scenarios.
- Apply inclusive behaviours and reasonable adjustments (Standard 11) for patients and colleagues, and document or escalate concerns using governance systems.
GOC Framework Mapping:
Standard 11: Protect and safeguard: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Domain: Professionalism
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? |