This page answers some common questions from practices interested in becoming a FTY Placement Provider. If your question is not answered below, please contact us at nes.ftyoptometry@nhs.scot.
This section answers frequently asked questions on Becoming a Placement Provider.
Applications to host FTY students will be submitted through an online application form. Further information on the application process and key dates is available on the Applying, Matching and Allocation | Turas | Learn page.
Placement providers will be asked to confirm:
Applicants will also submit information for a student-facing placement information and confirm agreement to the relevant placement documentation and responsibilities.
There will be a short online application form to complete, including practice information, placement capacity and Clinical Supervisor details.
There will also be relevant placement documentation, including the Educational Agreement and FTY Placement Provider Terms of Participation. The Terms of Participation are available here. Further guidance will be provided to support practices through the application process. Further guidance will be provided to support practices through the application process.
Practices must provide a safe learning environment, with appropriate facilities, clinical equipment, internet access and access to a suitable range of patients and clinical presentations. Further information on Placement Provider requirements is available on the Becoming a Placement Provider section of the Placement Provider Hub.
Students are expected to work four days per week in the placement practice, as part of the practice’s normal working hours. The fifth day is a protected FTY development day and is not part of the student’s employment with the Placement Provider.
Placement providers will be expected to commit to supporting the FTY for the full academic year, covering both placement blocks, with the expectation that one student will be hosted in each placement block.
Absolutely. While we require an IP‑qualified Clinical Supervisor for at least one of each student’s placements, we also recognise the valuable ability, skill, and experience that non‑IP supervisors can provide.
PSD Scotland will support you throughout the FTY, from application and placement allocation to placement delivery and quality assurance. Each student is allocated a PSD Scotland Educational Supervisor, who provides ongoing oversight of their progress, conducts regular review meetings, supports prescribing development, and works closely with the Clinical Supervisor and university to ensure students receive coordinated support.
Placement providers and supervisors will also have access to training, guidance, webinars, online resources, peer support and direct support from PSD Scotland throughout the placement. Supervisors will receive funded protected time to complete the mandatory training required for the role.
Yes. The key requirement is that the practice can provide the range of experiences needed for the student's development. Small practices often offer unique learning opportunities due to their close-knit and varied work environments. There may be opportunities for smaller practices to work in collaboration to offer students a split placement if the practice has limited capacity for the students to have practical experiences throughout the week. This can be discussed and arranged directly with PSD Scotland.
Domiciliary settings may be included as part of the wider supervisory arrangements where they can support the student's learning and development. This may involve working with other practices or placement settings to provide the range of experiences required. This can be discussed with PSD Scotland.
The two-placement model gives your practice the opportunity to support two students during the FTY, while giving students experience of different practice settings and professional teams. A student joining for their second placement will also bring experience from their first placement, creating an opportunity for them to share a different perspective and build on their learning.
The FTY has arrangements in place to support continuity between placement blocks. Relevant information and feedback are recorded in the student's portfolio so that the next practice can understand their progress, development and learning to date. The student also has continued oversight from their Educational Supervisor (ES)/Designated Prescribing Practitioner (DPP) across the FTY, alongside support from their university Academic Mentor. This provides continuity for the student even though they move between placements.
This section answers frequently asked questions on Supervision and supporting students.
The FTY Clinical Supervisor role is broadly consistent with the supervision responsibilities already familiar within the profession. Clinical Supervisors will support students through day-to-day clinical learning, including observing their practice, discussing their clinical experiences and providing feedback. Relevant feedback from supervised activities will contribute to the student's training portfolio.
Guidance and training will be provided to support Clinical Supervisors in their role. Please visit the Supervisor Hub and Supervisor FAQs section for more information and answers to many questions relating to Clinical Supervision.
An IP-qualified Clinical Supervisor will support the student through the same day-to-day supervision, observation and feedback activities as other Clinical Supervisors. Where relevant IP-related patients are seen within the practice, these may provide opportunities for the student to develop and demonstrate relevant learning outcomes.
IP-focused learning and simulation will also be supported through the student’s protected development day.
The IP-qualified Clinical Supervisor does not have additional responsibility for the student’s overall assessment or progression. The Educational Supervisor (ES)/Designated Prescribing Practitioner (DPP) retains oversight of the student’s overall progress and assessment across the FTY.
Yes. The wider practice team can contribute to the student’s learning and provide opportunities to learn from a range of professionals, alongside the named Clinical Supervisor. The Clinical Supervisor retains overall responsibility for the student’s day-to-day supervision, learning and development within the placement.
Yes. Clinical Supervisors will complete mandatory PSD Scotland facilitated training delivered through Turas Learn. The training supports a consistent approach to supervision across Scotland and will be refreshed every three years.
Further information on supervisor training including funding available for protected time is available on the Placement Provider Hub.
No. Previous experience of supervising a student through a full training cycle is not essential. The FTY will support supervisors with different levels of experience through appropriate training and development.
Further information is available on the Supervisor Hub.
This section answers frequently asked questions on Matching and Allocation.
During the engagement period, placement providers can choose how they wish to engage with students, for example through practice visits, open days, virtual meetings or interviews. This allows practices and students to find out more about each other and helps inform the preference lists you and the students will submit.
No. Providers are not expected to run a separate recruitment process. Student and provider preferences will be considered through the national allocation process.
The national allocation process ensures that every student has access to a suitable placement as part of their undergraduate training. It also makes best use of placement capacity across Scotland and supports the requirements of the universities’ GOC-approved programmes. A centralised approach is consistent with models already used in dentistry and pharmacy.
Students and placement providers will have opportunities to find out more about each other and express their preferences. PSD Scotland will coordinate the national allocation process, taking account of student and provider preferences.
The allocation will be supported by an algorithm-based matching approach, drawing on established approaches already used by PSD Scotland for other healthcare professional programmes, including medicine, pharmacy and dentistry.
Please visit the Applying, Matching and Allocation Section for further information.
Yes. Placement providers will have an opportunity to express their preferences as part of the national allocation process.
Approval as a FTY placement provider confirms eligibility to host a student but does not guarantee an allocation in any given year. Approved providers are not ranked or prioritised; all approved placement providers have an equal opportunity to be matched through the allocation process.
This section answers frequently asked questions on Governance, Quality and Managing Concerns.
PSD Scotland will support you throughout the FTY, from application and student allocation, through to placement delivery and quality assurance.
Each student is allocated a PSD Scotland Educational Supervisor, who provides ongoing oversight of their progress, conducts regular review meetings, supports prescribing development, and works closely with the Clinical Supervisor and university to ensure students receive coordinated support.
Placement providers and supervisors will also have access to training, guidance, webinars, online resources, peer support and direct support from PSD Scotland throughout the placement. Supervisors will receive funded protected time to complete the mandatory training required for the role.
Placement Providers contribute to the quality of the FTY by providing a safe and supportive learning environment, engaging with quality monitoring and evaluation, supporting assessment and feedback, and raising concerns where required. Placement Providers will work with PSD Scotland and the university to address issues affecting the placement or student.
As the FTY is the clinical placement element of the final, fifth year of the MOptom (IP) programmes in Scotland, each university retains overall responsibility for its students while they are on placement.
The university will maintain regular contact and support students’ academic development through placement activities and learning days. The university also retains responsibility for conducting any disciplinary or fitness‑to‑practise investigations or proceedings, which will be carried out in accordance with its own policies and procedures.
Concerns should be raised and addressed as early as possible. The FTY has processes in place for supporting students and managing concerns relating to performance, conduct, attendance, supervision and patient safety. The Educational Supervisor provides oversight of the student's overall progress and will work with the Clinical Supervisor and university Academic Mentor where concerns arise.
For more information on becoming a FTY placement provider or to register your interest in the meantime, please contact nes.ftyoptometry@nhs.scot.