SeeAbility to provide special schools service to 70,000 children

SeeAbility has been awarded an NHS contract to provide eye care to every special school across London and South-East England.

The contract will see the charity’s special school’s service provide eye care to 70,000 SEND children.

Research by SeeAbility has found that children with learning disabilities are 28 times more likely to have a sight problem, yet more than four in 10 have no history of eye care.

For the past 13 years SeeAbility has provided sight tests, glasses dispensing and full clinical care in special schools.

However, the awarding of the contract across London and the South-East marks the success of a decade-long campaign that will now see the NHS roll out the eye care service to every special school in the UK, with SeeAbility chosen to provide the service in schools across London and the South-East.

Since its launch in 2013, SeeAbility’s special schools eye care service has received national recognition for its work, including the nasen Award for Provision of the Year in 2019 and the Overall Excellence Award at the Charity Awards in 2021.

Lisa Donaldson, SeeAbility’s director of eye care and vision, welcomed the announcement, commenting: “We are absolutely delighted that every special school in London and the South-East 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,” Donaldson highlighted, adding: “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. That includes young people with complex needs and disabilities and those who are unable to express themselves verbally.”

SeeAbility began expanding its long-established special school eye care service last month. From November, the service will be introduced across the South-East, including Thames Valley, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Surrey, Sussex, and Kent and Medway, where it is estimated that 40,000 children could benefit.

To access SeeAbility’s eye care service in London and the South-East, each school must opt into the service individually by contacting SeeAbility.

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