Glasses trial sets sights on primary pupils

A new trial launched today aims to ensure primary school children get the glasses they need in order to improve their maths and reading skills.

Pupils in 100 schools across England will take part in a trial of Glasses for Classes, a programme developed by a team at the University of Leeds and the Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

The NHS recommends that all children receive an eyesight test in their first year of school. Roughly 10–15 per cent of children fail that test, and of these about a third are not taken to the opticians to obtain glasses.

But schools are not told these results. As a result, it is thought many children with visual impairment may experience misdiagnosed problems at school with reading and counting.

In the Educational Endowment Foundation-funded trial, which will be independently evaluated by a team from the University of Nottingham, results of children’s eye tests will be shared with schools as well as parents.

Staff will be trained to support pupils and their families to get glasses and encourage pupils to wear them. Funding will be provided for a second pair of glasses for pupils to keep at school and each participating school will appoint a member of staff to manage the relationship between school, families, opticians and health services.

This new research, which will trial the sharing of information between health and education services, provides the opportunity to influence national policy in the future.

Earlier research by Dr Alison Bruce, Director of Vision Research at the Born in Bradford programme, found that failing to treat undiagnosed eye conditions – such as short-sightedness and astigmatism – can hold back the development of literacy skills. For example, it is more difficult to learn to read if you cannot see well enough to discriminate the difference in how letters appear, or see what the teacher is pointing to.

While these issues can affect all children, those from disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to go without a diagnosis.

Professor Mark Mon-Williams, lead academic from the University of Leeds, said: “Poor eyesight in young children can be enormously difficult for parents or teachers to detect, and even where it’s obvious, there is currently no mechanism to ensure vision screening results are ever acted upon.

“We believe this project shows great promise and could help the large number of children with visual problems across the country to have a more positive educational experience, and ensure they have the good start in life that every child deserves.”

The University of Leeds and Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust are planning for further collaboration in the near future, with the establishment of the Wolfson Centre for Applied Healthcare Research, in partnership with the University of Bradford.

The Educational Endowment Foundation has announced four other new trials today, which will collectively involve 450 schools and colleges across England.

Schools will be able to register their interest to take part in the projects by visiting the EEF website.

Sir Kevan Collins, Chief Executive of the Educational Endowment Foundation, said: “Making sure all young children with possible eyesight problems are identified and supported with glasses or other treatments is a clear win-win, helping improve health as well as educational opportunities.

“Our new trial will find out how best schools can provide practical support to parents so that no child faces this unnecessary barrier to learning.”

Dr Alison Bruce, the academic lead for the new intervention from the Born in Bradford programme, added: “This new research, which will trial the sharing of information between health and education services, provides the opportunity to influence national policy in the future.”

Further information

For interview requests, please contact Simon Moore, Press Officer at the University of Leeds, on 0113 34 38059 or s.i.moore@leeds.ac.uk.

The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) is a grant-making charity set up in 2011 by the Sutton Trust as lead foundation in partnership with Impetus Trust (now part of Impetus–The Private Equity Foundation), with a £125m founding grant from the Department for Education. The EEF is dedicated to breaking the link between family income and educational achievement.