25 March 2021
The Department for Education is considering expanding its Glasses in Classes pilot to reach a further 1000 pupils after early results illustrated an improvement in literacy levels.
The project involved a data sharing arrangement where teachers were informed which students at 100 Bradford schools had failed their eye test. These students were then provided with one pair of spectacles for use at home and one pair for school.
An update on Glasses for Classes prepared by universities minister, Michelle Donelan, highlighted that usually the results of vision screening is shared directly with families but not with schools.
“Our data found that 2500 children in Bradford do not get the glasses they need, and that schools are unaware of their uncorrected eyesight issues,” she said.
At the start of the programme, children were nine percentage points behind the national average in reading. This gap narrowed to four percentage points in 2018 and two percentage points in 2019.
“In the coming months we hope to expand the programme to five more areas, reaching 1000 more pupils. If successful it will then be rolled out more widely,” Donelan said.
Comments (3)
You must be logged in to join the discussion. Log in
Anonymous03 April 2021
It just tells me that there are people out there not fit to be parents. It’s not as if there are no opticians in Bradford offering NHS funded eye exams and glasses for children. They are just too lazy to get off their arses and look after their children properly.
Report Like 227
AndyMcG26 March 2021
yet another example of the "postcode lottery" of service provision in this country.
A jolly good idea though. IMHO school children should be screened for pattern glare/visual stress as well.
Report Like 195
Anonymous26 March 2021
I love this sort of report: "We are waiting for the externally verified results from the trial but we do know there has been year-on-year progress. At the start of the programme, pupils were 9 percentage points behind the national average in reading at KS2. That gap narrowed to 4ppts in 2018 and 2ppts in 2019."
So they are waiting for results to be verified, but they have already decided it works...
Obviously it can't be double-blind but please tell us there was a randomised control group.
Report Like 201