The assessment process
From booking an appointment through to receiving the report, how does the process work?
Booking an appointment
For 2 hour assessments, I have an online booking system which enables you to choose an available slot and pay the deposit, and I can send you a link to this once we've established that I'm the right type of professional to help you and once we know that there are no significant visual difficulties that should first be explored by an optometrist. Please either call me on 01342 714065 to discuss how I can help or email/send a message through my website providing me with some context.
If enquring about exam access arrangements, please either call me on 01342 714065 or email/send a message through my website providing me with some context. For example, for young people, please tell me which school year your young person is in, which school they go to and whether you've been asked by the school to contact me. For adults sitting professional exams, please let me know the name of the exam board and the exam(s) you are sitting.
Prior to the assessment
For booked full diagnostic assessments, I'll ask you to complete a questionnaire and return it to me at least 14 days before the assessment date. There may be questionnaires for others to complete too, such as a school/college questionnaire if I'm seeing your child. I'll ask you to send this onto the SENCo/class teacher and ask that it's either sent back to you to forward onto me or it's shared with us both at the same time. Those being assessed need to have had an eyesight test in the 2 years leading up to the assessment date.
For exam access arrangements linked to GCSEs/A' levels, the school or college will need to send me JCQ form 8 before the assessment date with the relevant sections completed.
I appreciate that having an appointment with someone unfamiliar can be rather daunting and therefore I offer a free 5-10 minute Zoom 'hello' in the days just beforehand so the person who's seeing me can say 'hello', ask questions, etc.
You'll receive an email the weekend before the appointment with a few gentle reminders, such as what you'll need on the day. There'll be an attachment for children and young people which has a photo of me and some friendly information about what to expect.
On the day of the assessment
If you're a parent, you're welcome to pop in to see my dining room which is where I assess. You can then return 2 hours later if your child is having a 2 hour assessment . Alternatively, you're welcome to stay in your car or in my garden. As well as outdoor seating areas, I have an insulated, heated outdoor garden cabin for parents to use. This has a comfy sofa, an Alexa for music/the radio and a TV with a FireStick where you can watch Netflix, BBC iPlayer, etc.
The photos below may be helpful for you/your child to see my dining room, my garden cabin, etc.
Please scroll through the photos
Afterwards
I offer immediate verbal feedback to explain my conclusion. For parents, this can be in person (in my dining room, my garden, by your car or on my doorstep) or later on in the day (over a phone call or in a brief email). Those age 18+ can choose whether to hear the feedback alone or with someone else. I send reports and referral letters within 14 days of the assessment to only those named on them (or those with parental responsibility if under the age of 18) irrespective of who pays.