One of 16 students at the school to receive free vision screening and testing at school, Year 2 student Charlie Holland received his new glasses alongside six classmates.
Children with undiagnosed vision problems often find it hard to concentrate at school, which presents challenges when it comes to actively engaging in their learning — but too many Victorian families avoid eye testing due to the prohibitive cost of glasses.
The Victorian-first program, which is managed and delivered by State Schools’ Relief, has helped more than 22,000 Prep to Year 3 students at 395 schools across Victoria have their eyes screened and, if needed, receive free glasses.
The Victorian Budget 2019-20 invested $1.6 million to deliver the second round of the Glasses for Kids program — supporting students with undiagnosed vision impairments, regardless of their background, to achieve their best at school and beyond.
Member for Northern Victoria Mark Gepp has welcomed the program, paying special attention to the 65 students in Campaspe Shire who have benefited from the program with free glasses.
“It’s fantastic that students across the Campaspe Shire are now seeing more clearly and concentrating better thanks to Glasses for Kids — and that’s exactly why we’ll continue to invest in this vital program, and in our kids’ health.”
The second phase of the program means the program will visit an extra 340 schools — testing about 40,000 more students in Prep to Year 3.
The 10 schools across Campaspe Shire in which 419 students were tested include:
• Echuca East Primary School
• Echuca South Primary School
• Echuca Twin Rivers School
• Echuca Twin Rivers Specialist School
• Girgarre Primary School
• Lancaster Primary School
• Nanneella Estate Primary School
• Rochester Primary School
• Rushworth P-12 College
•Tongala Primary School
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