Children with undiagnosed eye health conditions may face ‘severe’ consequences for their education and wellbeing, experts at Specsavers in Chesterfield have warned.

With the area’s kids going back to school, new research finds that despite children’s eye tests being free under the NHS, almost two fifths (38%) of parents say their child has not had one in the past two years.

The data comes in the lead up to National Children’s Eye Health month launching on September 23^rd, an initiative by Specsavers to raise awareness of children’s eye health and reminding parents of the importance of regular eye tests for their children.

Allissa Charlesworth, Ophthalmic Optician at Specsavers Matlock and Chesterfield, comments: “Early detection of any sight issues is critical. At school about 80% of what children are taught is presented visually, therefore it is important to take your children for regular eye tests to detect any problems.”

“Between the ages of three and eight there is a real window of opportunity to identify and treat conditions such as myopia and lazy eye, which can have no outward symptoms.”

“Undiagnosed conditions such as myopia, or short sightedness, can severely impair education and general wellbeing.”

“An eye test is recommended every two years and under-16s receive a free NHS eye test at Specsavers. With that in mind, there is no reason to wait for something noticeably wrong before taking your child for a sight test – do it today.”

Derbyshire County Council Cabinet has agreed its updated Five Year Financial Plan (FYFP) which details how they intend to meet a savings target of £63 million by 2023-24 while continuing to provide vital council services for Derbyshire residents.

The FYFP highlights the continued budget pressures they are facing, with significant challenges in children’s social care, special educational needs provision, highways maintenance and waste.

While the report also details plans to use up to £40 million of council reserves to minimise impact on residents due to continued savings across departments, this amount is expected to be considerably reduced following last week’s government spending review.

Chancellor Sajid Javid announced additional funding for special educational needs (SEN) and social care for adults and children, and we are confident that if normal funding distribution patterns are followed, we could receive an extra £5 million to £10 million for our SEN services and around £10 million for social care.

Derbyshire County Council Leader Councillor Barry Lewis said:“The updated Five Year Financial Plan agreed by Cabinet details how the council was looking to use around £40 million of reserves to ensure our savings targets are met by 2023 to 2024.”

“The extra funding announced in the spending review is particularly welcome as it could see us using a lot less of our reserves over the medium term, help us to further reduce possible impacts on residents and ultimately achieve a balanced budget while still providing vital services to people who need them most.”

“While we await the finer detail from the government with interest, this will undoubtedly put the council in a much better financial position now and over the next 5 years.”

Derbyshire County Council currently have £64.5 million in general reserves, which looked likely to reduce to £18.3 million by 2023-24. Depending on the exact amount received following the spending review, the reserves by 2023-24 could be in a much stronger position topping £20 million.

Councillor Lewis added: “In agreeing the Five Year Financial Plan we are confident it shows that we continue to run an effective, efficient and strong council providing the best value for money for our residents.”

“Our Enterprising Council approach is already paying dividends as we review services across the board and start to transform them by working in new and innovative ways.”

“Our highways service is now more flexible, making more use of technology and buying more effectively following a review and most people will be aware we are looking to transfer 20 of our libraries over to community management, which we believe will secure the future of the entire service.”

“We’ve also concluded a review of corporate property, and we’ll shortly be working with Suffolk County Council to set up joint ventures to run our cleaning and caretaking teams and some design and construction services.”

“We’re also changing the way we support older people and those with disabilities to help them lead more independent, fulfilled lives, refocusing services so they are more aligned to people’s needs and wishes. This new approach will help people develop their strengths and achieve personal goals while ensuring services are efficient and provide value for money.”

The FYFP will be revised at a later date to reflect the money Derbyshire County Council are to receive following the government’s spending review, when the figures are announced.