Optometry Supervisor Grant Claims

Overview

An ophthalmic contractor who provides supervision for the training of an optometry trainee may be eligible to claim an Optometry Supervisor Grant.

This grant was previously known as the Pre‑registration Training Grant.

The allowance payable is set annually by the Department of Health and Social Care, and Primary Care Support England (PCSE) processes claims on behalf of NHS England.

Eligibility criteria

 A contractor is eligible to claim a clinical placement training payment if:

• they hold a GOS contract
• they are hosting an eligible optometry trainee within their practice

An optometry trainee is eligible if:

• they have successfully completed a General Optical Council (GOC) approved Bachelor of Science (BSc) in optometry and are undertaking the mandatory 1‑year pre‑registration clinical placement overseen by the College of Optometrists
• they are completing the clinical placement component of a GOC‑approved integrated optometry Master of Science or Master of Optometry (MOptom) degree; this placement requires attendance for 4 working days per week, supplemented by 1 dedicated university learning day and is defined in this guidance as CLiP
• they are engaged in a clinical placement that fully meets the GOC requirements for optometry education and training and is recognised by NHS England for payment purposes

The allowance payable is set annually by the Department of Health and Social Care, and Primary Care Support England (PCSE) processes claims on behalf of NHS England - find out more here.

Approved training schemes

Optometry Supervisor Grant claims may relate to one of two approved training schemes:

Scheme for Registration (SfR)

This is the legacy optometry training scheme.

Claims under SfR:

• Are limited to a maximum of 24 weeks per six‑month block
• Have an overall maximum of 48 weeks per trainee

SfR claims created before go‑live, or already in progress, may continue to use the 12‑month option only where the training placement end date is before 1 April 2026.

Claiming model from 1 April 2026

From 1 April 2026, Optometry Supervisor Grant claims move to a six‑month claiming model.

This means:

• The 12‑month claim option is removed for any training placement ending on or after 1 April 2026
• Claims must be submitted within three months of the training placement end date
• Claims submitted outside this timeframe will not be accepted

Any placement with an end date on or after 1 April 2026 must be claimed using the six‑month option, regardless of training scheme.

Pro‑rata and exception claims

In exceptional circumstances, pro‑rata claims may be accepted where:

• A trainee completes less than six months of training
• There is a change of Supervisor and or Contractor during the placement

In these cases:

• Claims may be submitted by the same or different Contractors and Supervisors for the same trainee
• The overall scheme limits must not be exceeded
• Exception claims are reviewed by the PCSE operations team

Optometry Supervisor Training Grant claim form

Submitting an Optometry Supervisor Grant claim

From 1 April 2026, claims must be submitted using the Optometry Supervisor Grant claim form available below.

• Download and complete the grant claim form
• Once complete, go to the Ophthalmic Payments Contact Us page
• Scroll down and select the 'New Ophthalmic Payments' form
• Choose 'Contractor/Optical practice' as the capacity in which you are submitting the form
• Click on 'Pre-reg training grant'
• Complete the necessary details and attach the application form in the upload section
• Submit

You will receive acknowledgement of your submission and a case reference number should you need to follow up.