Children with special educational needs on the Isle of Wight are set to benefit from expanded NHS-funded eye care from November.
Disability charity SeeAbility has been awarded an NHS contract to provide specialist eye care in special schools across South-East England, including the Isle of Wight.
The charity says children with learning disabilities are 28 times more likely to have a sight problem, while more than 4 in 10 have no history of receiving eye care.
Since 2013, SeeAbility has delivered sight tests, glasses dispensing and clinical eye care directly within special schools.
Around half of the children supported through the service have been found to have a problem with their vision, with some requiring only a pair of glasses to make a significant difference.
The expansion follows a decade-long campaign by SeeAbility and will see its Special Schools Eye Care Service introduced across the South-East, including Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Thames Valley, Surrey, Sussex, Kent and Medway.
Up to 40,000 children across the region could benefit.
The service provides comprehensive eye examinations as well as written reports detailing each pupil’s eye care needs and any support they may require.
Children and young people attending special education settings are eligible for an NHS optical voucher towards the cost of glasses.
SeeAbility says it is committed to providing glasses at no cost to families, with spectacles fitted by qualified dispensing opticians and additional support provided to help children wear them successfully.
Lisa Donaldson, SeeAbility’s Director of Eye Care and Vision, has said:
“We are absolutely delighted that every special school across South-East England will be able to benefit from SeeAbility’s eye care and glasses provision, optimally supporting every student to achieve their visual potential.
“This development follows over a decade of campaigning, research evidencing unmet need, refining models of care and developing a solid evidence base.
“No child should have to experience avoidable or undiagnosed visual impairment. With the appropriate adjustments and setting, it is possible for everyone to access eye care.”
The charity has previously highlighted the case of Terence, who received his first eye examination through SeeAbility at the age of 20.
He was found to have a prescription of minus 19 and could see no further than around 2 inches from his face before receiving his first pair of glasses.
SeeAbility’s Special Schools Eye Care Service has received national recognition, including the nasen Award for Provision of the Year in 2019 and the Overall Excellence Award at the Charity Awards in 2021.
The service is due to begin operating across the South-East from November.
Special schools must individually opt into the service by contacting SeeAbility.
More information can be found at seeability.org.
