World premiere for new SeeAbility film on World Sight Day

World premiere for new SeeAbility film on World Sight Day (Today 9th October)

The voices of people with learning disabilities and the decade long campaign to establish an eye care service in England’s special schools has been captured on film for the first time by disability charity SeeAbility.

With this year’s World Sight Day message of making eye care available, accessible and affordable to all, the film movingly shows how the charity achieved one of its goals of establishing a service that brings eye care to tens of thousands of children with learning disabilities.

Children with a learning disability are 28 times more likely to have a sight problem than other children – but half miss out on eye care and often do not have the glasses they need. This is the world’s biggest cause of avoidable sight loss.

Using footage from its award-winning work in special schools, it is narrated by SeeAbility’s eye care champions and its Head of Engagement, Scott Watkin, BEM, with testimony from parents, teachers and eye care professionals. Scott says:

“I am one of the lucky ones. By chance my sight-threatening condition was spotted as a child and I was supported to get the eye care I needed. I now have a family and a job I love. Our film is a chance to celebrate that 165,000 children in special schools should now get the same chance as me, and who knows where this will lead?

“But it is a familiar story being told – as people with learning disabilities we often have to fight for the basic healthcare we deserve.”

The film is a reminder that sight issues are the most common health issue that people with learning disabilities will have, and people with a more severe or profound learning disability are particularly at risk. SeeAbility’s research found that only 1 in 10 children in special schools had ever been for an NHS sight test at a community opticians and many were having to be seen in hospital instead.

Lisa Donaldson, SeeAbility’s Director of Eye Care and Vision, also helps narrate the film. Lisa is an optometrist who first began her work in 2013 evidencing how a ‘one stop shop’ model of eye care including dispensing glasses could work.

Lisa describes how many people and organisations supported the campaign over the decade. In 2023 the last government agreed, and in 2024 the new government legislated for a new scheme to be rolled out by health bodies in England from 2025.

Lisa says:

“For SeeAbility, our campaign continues to remove barriers to eye care for all people with a learning disability, children and adults, and to make sure the national scheme in special schools rolls out this year and delivers the best outcomes.

“There is much more to be done, but we hope the film is an inspiration to others as to the power of coming together, putting evidence in front of governments, being persistent and fighting for a more equal right to sight!”

The 11 minute long film can be found at Special Schools Eye Care: Our journey.

More information about the service going forward can be found on the SeeAbility website.