With the new school year starting this week, a Midsomer Norton optician is urging parents to make sure their children’s vision is top of the class.

A survey by Scrivens Opticians & Hearing Care, which has a branch on High Street, revealed that almost a quarter (23 per cent) of parents have never taken their child for an eye test, with their only sight checks being the ones carried out in school at four to five years old. Yet, of those who had taken their child for an eye test more than three quarters had experienced a change in the quality of their vision.

When it comes to learning, it is an established fact that up to 80% of learning is visual. Therefore, having excellent vision goes hand in hand with doing well at school.

Branch Manager Steven Ball said: “Parents always have a long back to school check list but getting your children’s eyes tested should be a priority.

“For many children they don’t understand what is ‘normal’ when it comes to their vision, so they probably won’t know if they are having problems. That’s where an eye test will reveal any issues that in most cases can be corrected through prescription glasses or contact lenses. Not only will seeing clearly make reading and writing easier but it will help children’s levels of concentration and remember what is being taught in class.

“Being able to detect any issues with sight at this crucial stage of development and education can help to ensure your child doesn’t fall behind.”

It is thought that around 1 in 3 people in the UK are myopic and it is becoming more common among children, according to a UK study. There is growing academic evidence this trend could be linked to screen time. Looking at screens for prolonged lengths of time can lead to eye strain, which in turn can cause blurred vision.

This ties in with the findings of the Scrivens research, where 81 per cent of parents feared that too much screen time was the cause of their children’s worsening vision and 85 per cent attempted to curb screen time.

Top five signs that your child might need glasses:

Complaining of headaches, problems reading, regularly rubbing their eyes / complaining of dry eyes, sitting too close to the television and squinting.