Call for Quality Eye Care in UK Special Schools

The UK Minister for Care, Stephen Kinnock MP, paid a visit to The Village School in London in December to witness children receiving eye care from SeeAbility’s specialist team. The Minister saw how the tests are delivered and learned how it is possible to prescribe glasses even if a child is unable to say what they can see.

SeeAbility states that children with learning disabilities are 28 times more likely to have a sight problem than other children, and that half of children in special schools will have a problem with their vision. Yet around half have never received eye care before, and over four in 10 will need glasses.

As a result of SeeAbility’s research, NHS England recently rolled out a “one-stop shop” of eye care in special schools across London, the North West and North East, and Yorkshire as part of the NHS Special Schools Eye Care Service.

In October, the government announced that the eye care scheme would be made available to all special schools alongside other sensory check initiatives in residential special schools.

But with fears over the details of the future rollout, the SeeAbility team took the opportunity to hand the Minister a letter emphasizing the need for the continuation of high-quality and sustainably funded service for children with learning disabilities.

Lisa Donaldson, SeeAbility’s Head of Eye Care, explained that it was the Department of Health and Social Care’s innovation funding “which enabled us to demonstrate that this multidisciplinary service is needed in special schools.” She added, “Now we are at the cusp of seeing the service roll out nationally, it is vital that the construction and the funding of the scheme delivers the same great outcomes from this initial work.”

SeeAbility is one of the oldest disability charities in the world. It specializes in supporting people with learning disabilities, autism, and sight loss to “achieve their ambitions and to live their best lives.”