Prep to year three students at Mount Ridley P-12 college in Craigieburn will soon see the benefits of the expansion of the Glasses for Kids program.
State Schools’ Relief, in partnership with the state government, has announced the initiative is expanding over the next three years, with the aim of conducting eye tests at 770 schools, screening 64,000 students, conducting 27,000 comprehensive eye tests, and distributing over 16,000 pairs of glasses at no cost.
Glasses for Kids program manager Luke Owen said the program worked a lot with families from low socioeconomic backgrounds who may not have the financial means to pay for a pair of glasses.
“Quite often, parents in those communities can be quite time poor, so they may not actually have a lot of time to take students or to take their children to a clinic,“ he said.
Mr Owen said that the program allows students to go through school without an additional obstacle in their way.
“The impetus for the program can be seen in that early intervention with that educational aspect of getting in early and making sure that those barriers don’t become concreted in that child’s life as they they move through school,“ he said.
State Schools’ Relief chief executive Sue Karzis said the initiative ensures every child can participate in education with the same opportunities as others, regardless of their personal circumstances.
According to an Optometry Australia vision index report conducted in 2022, one in five Australian children have an undetected vision problem.
Mr Owen said glasses are becoming cool in school.
“(The tests) sort of promote the culture as well in schools, where wearing glasses is seen as being something cool,” he said.
“So we actually find that students who may already wear glasses are actually more encouraged to use their glasses regularly because all of a sudden other classmates have also got glasses as well.”
Initial vision screenings are taking place from August 12 to August 15.
