Optical Practice Support:
Optical Practice Support
Level 3 Examination
To obtain the Level 3 Certificate in Optical Practice Support, a candidate must successfully sit the following four papers:
Paper 1 (90 minutes) – Two units: "The legal requirements in an optical practice & "Managing people in optical practice". Three questions, or sets of questions per unit.
Paper 2 (One hour) – One unit: "General optics and optical screening". Three questions, or sets of questions.
Paper 3 (90 minutes) - One unit: "Supporting the provision of spectacles in optical practice". Four questions, or sets of questions.
Paper 4 (One hour) – One unit: "Supporting the provision of contact lenses in optical practice". Three questions, or sets of questions.
Passing the examination
To pass the examination, a candidate must achieve a minimum of 50% in each unit of every paper.
Candidates will only be able to retake a unit three times, and only within three years of their first sitting for the examination. Those who have still not achieved a pass by that stage will be required to re-sit the whole examination.
Grading
Results are not graded. A candidate either passes an examination, or fails it.
Prizes
The WCSM Education Trust awards a prize to the candidate obtaining the best marks in the examinations held throughout the same calendar year.
Examinations: important note
With effect from June 2011 the format of all WCSM examinations will change to reflect the fact that qualifications accredited to the Qualifications and Credits Framework may be achieved through passing the qualifying examination unit by unit, as opposed to trying to pass the whole examination at one sitting, provided all units are achieved within five years of the candidate's achieving the first one. However, this would clearly be a longer and, because of the increased administrative overheads, a more expensive way of obtaining a qualification.
All WCSM Application Forms will allow candidates to specify how many units they wish to attempt at that particular time.
The time allowed in the examination room to complete each unit will be determined by the time allocated to the whole paper, the total number of units into which that paper is divided, and their respective credit value.
Take advantage of the distance learning packages offered by the WCSM Education Trust to prepare youself for a WCSM qualification that will make you a more skilled employee.
