Free healthcare checks earmarked for SEND students
NHS England announced they’ll be introducing free eyesight, hearing and dental checks for young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in residential schools and colleges.
Previously, we’ve always made a point of shouting about new investments and schemes introduced to help people with disabilities. This story is no different.
Following a successful pilot, which was trialled between 2022 and 2023, NHS England have revealed that free eyesight, hearing and dental checks will be offered to all special residential schools and colleges across the country next year – reaching around 18,000 children and young people.
Within the pilot, medical experts worked with people who had a learning disability, autism or both and their families to test the sensory checks so they could ensure appropriate clinical guidance and frameworks were in place before they’re opened up to the rest of the country.
Tom Cahill, national learning disability and autism director at NHS England, said: ‘Mainstream services can sometimes struggle to meet the needs of autistic children and young people, or those with a profound learning disability, so these new sensory checks in residential special schools will provide the support they need.
‘Having specialist services which take account of an individual’s reasonable adjustments, with support from people that know them well and delivered by appropriately trained staff, will help ensure that they are able to access sensory checks that other children and young people routinely receive.’
Arguably, this scheme couldn’t have come at a better time. Separate research estimated people with autism, or a learning disability could be 28 times more likely to struggle with visual impairment compared with the general public.
In addition, SEND children often struggle to access ear checks due to the nature of their disability. This is particularly concerning as data from NHS shows 80% of children will have had at least one long-term episode of middle ear infection with effusion by 10-years-old.
Stephen Kinnock, minister of state for care, added: ‘I am pleased we will be able to support vital sensory checks for all pupils in special educational settings, in a comfortable and known environment for them.
‘These checks will enable health issues in around 18,000 children and young people to be identified more promptly – tackling health inequalities by giving them access to the right high-quality care and support faster.’
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