After the fantastic news in June that the government and NHS England has committed to rollout a programme of eye care in all special schools from April 2024, the NHS England consultation which had been expected has been published, along with its commissioned evaluation. 

There is only a short time to respond – 16 October – it’s vital for parents, carers, schools and clinicians to have their say.

SeeAbility’s head of eye care and vision, Lisa Donaldson, and her team share some initial views.

Lisa says: 

“We were delighted to read the evaluation report on the ‘proof of concept’ of the NHS England special schools eyecare service published recently. 

It is overwhelmingly and “unquestionably positive” overall on the current service from parents, carers, pupils and schools receiving it, and professionals delivering it. 

98% of participating schools stated that the service met their expectations and 75% said the service had made a ‘significant improvement in learning and behaviour’. 

The service data aligns with previous research uncovering high levels of unmet need, with 42% of children needing glasses yet potentially up to 70% having no previous history of a sight test.  

"The NHS programme has trailblazed a new holistic way of providing eye care to children with special educational needs, providing a one stop shop where children get glasses and support in their familiar school setting."

However, the evaluation is based upon a service specification and training requirements which were developed by an expert working group with support from a central NHS England programme team. The consultation on how special schools eye care will be delivered in the future proposes some concerning changes to the current scheme.

Key amongst these are how professionals will be trained and equipped and how children access their glasses. The consultation centres on the specification of the service but not so much on how it will be commissioned and funded appropriately, and it is vital we have a nationally agreed standard for children, parents and schools to have the confidence that elements of the service aren’t optional and will be of a good quality.” 

Lisa concludes: 

“Crucially this is still a great opportunity to get this scheme right, to meet the Department’s commitment to a national one stop service in all special schools and retain the tried and tested elements that parents, schools and clinicians have stated as important to the original programme’s success. We look forward to contributing to this process.”

Respond to the consultation and read the independent evaluation report on the service so far.