If you have any concerns about a student’s vision please discuss them with the student’s parent/guardian and encourage them to take their child for an assessment by an optometrist.
Vancouver school health manual - Section 6: Vision
If you have any of the following concerns about a student’s vision please discuss them with the student’s parent/guardian and encourage them to take their child for a thorough assessment from an optometrist.
Holds head to one side or in an unusual way when looking carefully at an object
Has difficulty in keeping place while reading also known as being a “finger reader”
Avoids close work and is disinterested in activities that involve looking carefully at an object
Rubs eyes, frowns, squints, or blinks often when looking carefully at an object
Holds printed materials in an unusual position
Makes excessive errors when copying from blackboard
Pain in eyes
Frequent headaches when reading
Eye problem following head injury
Eyes hurt or blur when reading
Cannot see the blackboard
Words move or jump about when reading
Double vision
Loss of vision
If you have concerns about a student’s vision, discuss them with his or her parents, or send home a Request for Eye Examination form. Please refer the family to your school’s public health nurse if follow-up is necessary.
Request for eye examination form
We screen kindergarten children for possible visual defects such as refractive errors (nearsightedness and farsightedness), amblyopia (lazy eyes) and strabismus (crossed eyes). We do not diagnose vision disorders. Instead, we identify potential problems that need to be further examined by an optometrist.
We will contact you to arrange a suitable screening date and send notices home to parents about the screening. After the screening, we will contact the parents/guardians of students who require follow up. We send vision screening results directly to parents/guardians shortly after screening. We also share screening results with school principals if parents/guardians have consented to sharing these results with the school.
Children do not need to be able to read to be screened. First, the technician will use a tool to measure the child's vision in each eye. Next, to check depth perception, the child will wear special glasses and play a matching game with the technician. Results are available immediately. Children who require follow-up will be encouraged to visit an optometrist or ophthalmologist.
Families receiving social assistance can apply through their local Ministry of Child and Family Development Office. The BC Healthy Kids Program also helps low-income families with the basic cost of eye ware for children.