Children's eye health

Our aim

All children to have a full sight test before they start school, between the ages of three and four.

Our call to action

We are calling on national health and care service providers to:

  • update all guidance across the UK to signpost parents/carers to their local optician’s practice as their first port of call for eye health services and advice
  • include advice in the personal child health records (the ‘red book’) about how and why parents/carers should take their child for regular sight tests (every one-two years) from the age of three to four years
  • use and promote campaign assets to their audiences, with the core message of the importance that all children have a full sight test before they start school

We are asking all optometrists, dispensing opticians, contact lens opticians and other optical professionals who work with children to: 

  • support and promote this campaign within their place of work
  • refresh their skills around working with children, if needed

One in five parents

Don't know that school vision screening are not the same as full sight tests

One in five of parents

Don’t consider children’s sight tests as very important health checks

One in 10 parents

Feel it’s only necessary to take children for sight tests if issues are flagged

Guidance for Professional Practice

Eye health report

The College of Optometrists, Association of British Dispensing Opticians and the OSA partner in new campaign to raise awareness of the importance of children’s eye tests and better signposting for parents to children’s eye care professionals on the High Street.

In the news

New research shows that only 30% of kids always wear sunglasses on sunny days and more than a third of parents believe a hat or cap offers the same protection as sunglasses.

Latest campaign

ABDO, Boots Opticians, the College and Specsavers have all come together to deliver a public awareness campaign on the importance of children receiving a full sight test before they start school, around three to four years old.

Clinical file

Clinical files: Is a 6-year-old child too young for contact lenses?

More on examining children

Articles cover: Modifiable risk factors for AMD; Medical management of common corneal conditions; testing visual acuity of young children; lasers; the purpose of an eye test among people aged 60 and over.

Children with refractive problems should be offered an alternative one-stop and easy-access community service, tailored to local needs and with set standards of care and expected outcomes.

How young is too young for contact lenses?

Articles in this edition of OiP cover angle closure glaucoma in optometric practice, colour vision testing, children and contact lenses, and hereditary ocular diseases in childhood.

A look at some hereditary childhood ocular diseases that may be encountered in optometric practice, including anterior-segment disorders.

Articles covering: Genetics in ophthalmology and its relevance to optometry, dealing with challenging situations in practice, gonioscopy and hereditary ocular diseases in childhood.

Highlighting some of the hereditary diseases encountered in children with visual loss.

This review outlines current estimates of myopia prevalence for children, the characteristics of myopia progression and attempts to retard its progression with a variety of treatment therapies.

This OiP article looks at fitting contact lenses to treat children with a variety of conditions.

This article aims to prepare the optometrist for the ocular and refractive problems associated with premature birth.

Incomitance in cases of binocular vision defects can be a sign of disease or injury. Sophie Goodchild reminds us of the essentials.

Kieran Loft on his last stint at Acuity, and other changes in optometry.