Sight Testing and Dispensing of Spectacles to Children and Young People in Special Educational Settings across the South East

The South East Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) sought suitably qualified Providers to deliver at scale sight testing and dispensing of spectacles services for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in Special Educational Settings (SES) across the region.

This procurement was divided into Lots:

At the time of the procurement, the South East comprised six Integrated Care Boards (ICBs). From 1 April 2026, these reduced to four ICBs:

These changes were designed to improve integration, reduce health inequalities, and align services with local government boundaries to support the delivery of more sustainable care.

Children and young people with autism and/or learning disabilities face significant barriers to accessing routine eye care. Evidence from the 2021 NHS England Proof of Concept (POC) programme demonstrated that delivering sight tests and dispensing services directly within Special Educational Settings (SES) was both effective and impactful.

The service aims to ensure that eligible children and young people in SES across the South East are offered an annual sight test, unless clinically inappropriate. The goal is to reduce health inequalities, improve educational outcomes, and support better quality of life through timely identification and management of vision needs.

Further information is available in the service specification and the engagement report published on the NHS England website:

The contracts will be for an initial duration of 5 years (60 months) with an optional extension of 2 years (1 x 24 months). Services are expected to commence in 2026.

The maximum total budget available for the initial five year period (excluding the optional two year extension) for each Lot was as follows:

The maximum total budget available including the optional two year extension (five years plus two years) for each Lot was as follows:

The Commissioner will be contracting for the services using the General Ophthalmic Additional Services Model Contract - Special Educational Setting (SES). Contracts may be amended during the term to reflect co-commissioning, mandated directives, or service changes with associated funding.

The Commissioners were of the view that the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) did not apply. Bidders were required to undertake their own independent assessment of TUPE applicability.

This notice serves as an intention to award contracts for Lots 1 to 5 under the competitive process of the Provider Selection Regime (PSR).

This procurement exercise was carried out by NHS South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit (SCW CSU) on behalf of the Commissioners.