Feasibility and accuracy of school‐led vision screening in primary and secondary school students within the United Kingdom

PURPOSE: Vision screening occurs once in United Kingdom (UK) children on school entry, but has recently been withdrawn in some areas. Consequently, significant refractive error and/or vision problems may go undetected. School-led vision checking, where school staff assess vision, is increasingly advocated by the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness. This study investigates the accuracy of school-led vision checking in UK school students. METHODS: School personnel were trained to conduct vision checks on their students. These involved external observation of the eyes for obvious abnormalities, as well as monocular distance (3 m) and near vision assessments (33 cm), equivalent to 0.2 logMAR. Equipment required to complete the checks was provided to schools. Optometrists repeated the assessments on average within 3 weeks to determine the accuracy of the school-led checks. Failure criteria were habitual vision >0.20 logMAR (80%.