Understanding Vision Impairment

Vision impairment means a child or young person’s (CYP) eyesight cannot be corrected to a ‘normal’ level using contact lenses or glasses.

A severe vision impairment is defined as a visual acuity of less than 6/60 and 3/60. This means what a CYP with ‘normal’ vision can see from 60 metres, a CYP with a vision impairment would need to be between 3 and 6 metres away to see in the same level of detail.

A moderate vision impairment is defined as a visual acuity of less than 6/60 to 6/18. This means what a CYP with ‘normal’ vision can see from between 18 metres to 60 metres, a CYP with a vision impairment would need to be 6 metres away to see in the same level of detail.

There are an estimated 34,500 blind and partially sighted (BPS) children and young people aged 0-25 in England. This is only 2-3% of the total estimated SEND population which makes it a low incidence disability.

As it is a low incidence disability you may not have supported many BPS students and might not know what the right support looks like. No one expects career advisers, teachers or other professionals to be an expert in knowing what support a BPS student may need, that is why we are here to help you.

The Stats

To help you understand how many BPS CYP there are in England and your local area, please readthe Key facts about vision impairment in children and young people resource.

RNIB has also produced a Sight Loss Data tool which provides local data on the number of blind and partially sighted people across every Local Authority.