By Jena Carr
Newcomb Primary School students have a clearer future as the Glasses for Kids program rolls out nationwide.
In partnership with the state government, State Schools’ Relief launched the 2024-27 program in Geelong on Monday, July 22, and ran to Wednesday, July 23.
Program manager Luke Owen said the program was in its third year of helping students from Prep to Year 3 experiencing issues with their vision, including 52 students from Newcomb Primary School.
“In this iteration of the program, we’re finding that about 30 per cent of students are requiring glasses throughout visits,” he said.
“Being able to get in quite early and ensure that they’re not having any barriers to their educational achievement and involvement is important.
“The feedback that we get from teachers is that a lot of students who do have unidentified vision issues might be more disengaged in the classroom or more disruptive.”
Glasses for Kids provides initial screenings to school children to detect any issues with vision, further comprehensive testing if required, and offers prescription glasses or referrals.
Mr Owen said the program removed the timely and financial barriers that prevented children from getting the glasses they needed.
“With the optometrist coming into a school, like we have been doing this week at Geelong, it means that the testing is taking place in an area where the student already feels safe,” he said.
“We find that having the program run in schools takes that burden of parents to find the time to get to an optometrist clinic, and we take away the costs associated with getting the pair of glasses.”
