Making sure your four year old can see properly is one of the important steps needed before starting school.

Vision screening is a key step for children ahead of starting school, to ensure they are off to the best start possible as they transmission into the classroom. 

That's why the StEPS program is running catch up clinics throughout January - in Goonellabah and across Northern NSW - for four year old children heading to school in 2022. 

StEPS (State-wide Eyesight Preschooler Screening) is a free program designed to identify childhood vision problems which cannot be detected by observation, family history or vision surveillance.  

A StEPS assessment with a trained vision screening nurse is the best way to detect eye problems at an early age, with the aim of avoiding preventable vision impairment or blindness later in life. 

Children are particularly at risk of suffering from undetected vision problems because they may not realise they can’t see well, and may not complain of eye problems. The earlier a problem is detected, the more likely it is that it can be corrected. 

Given the disruptions to early childhood learning as part of the COVID response throughout the year, not all local preschools have been able to accommodate the screening program as part of their regular schedules this year. 

The catch up clinics are for any four-year old children who will be starting school in 2022. 

To book your child’s free vision screening, call (02) 6620 2836 before 4pm on 23 December 2021.