An extra 70,000 Victorian students, including those in Maribyrnong and Hobsons Bay, will benefit from vision screening and free glasses as part of a boost to the Glasses for Kids program.
The Victorian Budget 2024-25 sees $6.8 million going toward the program, supporting more Prep to Year 3 students with free onsite vision screening and, if needed, free glasses.
The expansion will open the program up to an extra 473 schools, making it available to 74,000 more Prep to Year 3 students through to 2027.
The Glasses for Kids program is managed and delivered by State Schools’ Relief and offered to students from Victorian Government schools identified with high and medium levels of disadvantage, based on the school’s Student Family Occupational Education Index.
The Glasses for Kids expansion is part of the $287 million package also delivering a once-off $400 School Saving Bonus which will help around 700,000 students with uniforms, camps, excursions and sporting events at school – to make sure no child misses out on school activities due to financial stress.
The once-off Bonus will be applied to school accounts for each child, but can be spent per family – so a family with three school children will receive $1200 in support to spend on school costs.
The Victorian Budget 2024/25 also expands access to the School Breakfast Clubs Program to every government school for the first time, with 150 additional schools to join the program over the next year – expected to support up to 200,000 students – before rolling out to all remaining schools from July 2025.
Education Minister Ben Carroll said he’s aware of a lack of diagnoses for kids in need.
“Too many kids fall behind in school because of undiagnosed and treatable vision problems and that’s why we’re expanding the Glasses for Kids program,” he said.
“We delivered a Budget that’s helping Victorian families –the School Saving Bonus, School Breakfast Clubs, Glasses for Kids and the Affordable School Uniforms program sit at the heart of our plan to ease cost-of-living pressures for families right across the state.”
