Free Glasses for Yorkshire Coast School Pupils to Tackle Poor Eyesight and Boost Literacy

A trial providing free glasses to improve literacy is being expanded to include pupils on the North Yorkshire Coast

The ‘Glasses in Classes’ programme aims to prevent disadvantaged pupils from being left behind because of poor eyesight

Marking National Eye Health Week, pupils on the North Yorkshire Coast will benefit from an expanded programme that provides two free pairs of glasses to improve reading and writing by tackling poor eyesight.

Data shows that 30 per cent of pupils who need glasses have not been to an optician.

The ‘Glasses in Classes’ scheme aims to level up outcomes and will be adapted for five disadvantaged areas in England, under the Opportunity Area programme. It's expected to reach more than 9,000 pupils in at least 225 schools.

Children identified as needing glasses will receive one pair for home and one for school, helping them concentrate in the classroom and improve their literacy skills.

Children and their families will receive support from a vision co-ordinator, usually a teaching assistant, to attend follow-up eye examinations, get their prescription glasses and wear them regularly. Training will be available for support staff.

The scheme is backed by Opportunity Area funding and will now be available for pupils in six areas including on the North Yorkshire Coast.

Christina Zanelli, headteacher at West Cliff Primary School, said:

“I am delighted that this project is coming to the North Yorkshire Coast.

“While most children will get support with their vision, this isn’t the case with all children.

“This initiative will help make sure that our children will get glasses if they need them.

“I hope that in time this will contribute to improving literacy rates along the Coast.”

The ‘Glasses in Classes’ project was developed by the Centre for Applied Education Research (CAER), a partnership created by Bradford Opportunity Area to remove health barriers to learning.

It was expanded across the city in 2019 using Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) funding to include 100 primary schools, of which half received the intervention, to further investigate the effect on literacy attainment of providing additional glasses for use in school.

This latest expansion aims to support other areas, including the North Yorkshire Coast, facing similar challenges and to close the attainment gap that persists between some children and their more affluent peers, despite it narrowing at every stage of education since 2011 up until the pandemic.

It builds on the Government’s long-term education recovery plan, including investment of more than £3 billion to date, and the extension of the Opportunity Area programme to a fifth year.

Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said:

“As a young boy shortly after arriving in this country, I sat at the back of the classroom with poor language skills and low confidence, struggling to engage with my lessons.

“Back then, I could never have dreamt of the opportunities this country would give me and I am determined to help every young person overcome obstacles, just as I was supported.

“Too many children still struggle with the literacy skills they need to make the most of their education. Simple steps like providing free glasses to those that need them so they can clearly see words on a page, for example, can help close the literacy gap and foster a love of learning.”

Schools do not usually get the results of vision screenings that pupils take in reception class but, during the pilot, these results were shared with staff in schools so they knew which pupils and families to support. Children are already entitled to free NHS sight tests and vouchers to help with the cost of glasses, but this trial gives them two pairs for free.

At the start of the Opportunity Area programme in 2017, pupils in Bradford were 6.2 percentage points behind the national average in reading at Key Stage 2. That gap narrowed almost a third to 4.6 percentage points in 2018 and halved to 3.1 percentage points in 2019. 

Other studies have shown that vision improved for children who wear their glasses compared to those who do not and there is a link between poor eyesight and reduced literacy scores*.

Local partners on the North Yorkshire Coast will work together to adapt the ‘Glasses in Classes’ approach to meet local need and delivery models will differ in the five areas as part of the Opportunity Area’s place-based approach to levelling up. It will be expanded to primary schools everywhere except North Yorkshire Coast where it will also benefit secondary pupils.