More than 5000 students across Victoria can see more clearly thanks to the free Glasses for Kids program.
Education Minister Natalie Hutchins announced the figure in March, with the program helping kids in Prep to Year 3 since 2015.
She said that since the start of Term 1 this year, 758 students at 17 schools had their vision screened and 130 receiving free prescription glasses.
“Giving Victorian children the opportunity to thrive at school goes beyond providing great education programs – this is about ensuring nobody is left behind because of common and very treatable issues like vision impairment.” she said.
“Health and education go hand in hand.”
Children with undiagnosed vision problems often find it hard to concentrate at school, which can present challenges for learning and development.
Glasses for Kids provides an on-site optometry service to children at their school, addressing vision impairments in children who otherwise might have gone undiagnosed.
By supporting students with undiagnosed vision impairments, Glasses for Kids is helping students achieve their best at school and beyond.
State Schools’ Relief delivers the program, which has so far provided free vision screening to almost 32,400 Prep to Year 3 students from 408 government primary and specialist schools across the state.
The State Government has invested more than $2.4 million to deliver Glasses for Kids.
