Government supports school vision project

More than a quarter of a million pounds has been pumped into a research project examining how poor vision affects the literacy skills of school children.

The £280,000 Department of Health-backed study, involving Bradford Teaching Hospitals’ head orthoptist, Dr Alison Bruce (pictured), and researchers from the Bradford Institute for Health Research and York University, began this month.

The trust said poor vision affected long-term educational attainment along with children’s health and social outcomes, making it vital sight problems were corrected promptly.

Dr Bruce said: ‘Amblyopia commonly co-exists with strabismus and/or anisometropia which results in the need for glasses. Amblyopia is the most frequently treated disorder encountered in children’s eye clinics affecting around 1-4 per cent of all children. Early detection and treatment is recommended but there is still a debate around its impact on key life outcomes like education, employment and other social outcomes.