Study examines link between eyesight and reading in Bradford

A project has started in Bradford to see there is a link between sight problems in young school children and their reading level. It's thought problems early on could affect their long-term education.

The £280,000 Department of Health-backed study sees Bradford Teaching Hospitals' head orthoptist, Alison Bruce, along with researchers from the Bradford Institute for Health Research (BIHR) and York University, examine the literacy skills of reception and year one students across Bradford.

It is thought that poor vision can affect a child's long-term educational attainment along with their health and social outcomes, so professionals believe it is vital that sight problems are corrected promptly.

The research project, which started this month, compares and contrasts children's eye tests against their literacy levels during their reception year and again when they move up to year one.

The four-year research project also aims to uncover why 31% of children, diagnosed between the ages of 4 to 5 years old with squints or needing glasses through the city's well-established national vision screening programme, fail to attend follow-up eye service appointments for treatment.

Currently children identified as having poor vision at school screening tests are either referred to a local optometrist or to the hospital's eye service.

Previous studies in Bradford reported that 14% of schoolchildren needed glasses while between 3-5% had squints.