Children missing out on vision screenings at school

According to new analysis from the vision charity Clearly shows that around 50,000 young children each year are at risk of poor vision or even sight loss because of a failure to provide vision screenings in their schools.

Funding screening in schools in England was handed to local authorities by the Government in 2015, however, the charity says around 250,000 of 4-5 year olds have not had the necessary screening in the last five years.

In addition, around 300,000 children per year are receiving school screenings that are not compliant with Public Health England guidelines. In total, fewer than half of all 4 to 5 year olds receive a screening that could be judged as adequate.

Tests for 4 to 5-year olds in Reception are critical to detect lazy eye, officially known as amblyopia. The condition causes irreversible damage to vision during the early years of life.

Amblyopia is the most common eye problem facing children in the UK, occurring in around 2-3% of children. This means that up to 1,500 children per year are at risk of missing out on vital treatment which could prevent permanent harm to vision. Many will already have done so and until the screenings are made mandatory this will continue to happen.
 
Campaigners are calling on the Government to take over funding of screening and to make it mandatory in England – bringing the country into line with the rest of the UK.
 
The vision charity, Clearly, is demanding screenings for all 4 to 5-year olds as well as those aged 5-6 who missed out in the 2019/20 academic year due to the Covid-19 lockdown.
 
James Chen, Founder of Clearly, said: “The provision of school screenings in England is far too patchy and the people being let down are our youngest school-age children. This is no way to prepare them for adulthood. This scandal must end – and end now with mandatory screening.”
 
This new analysis comes as an array of personalities mark World Sight Day tomorrow (Thursday) by reading a series of bedtime stories as the sun goes down in their time zone about the importance of seeing clearly.  They will be broadcast on social media. Readers include Billie Jean King, the tennis legend, film star Michelle Yeoh, comedian Adam Hills and Princess Alia of Jordan.
 
The stories come from a digital book, Through the Looking Glass: Stories About Seeing Clearly to which a collection of authors and illustrators from six continents have contributed, and which hail the joys of clear vision and the need for eye tests and glasses to achieve it. Five children's laureates, Quentin Blake, Lauren Child, Chris Riddell, Michael Morpurgo and Cressida Cowell, the current laureate, have been involved in the ground-breaking project.