Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

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Below are your FAQs, the most frequently asked questions we receive, with responses, of course. Questions concern SchoolScreener®, any of the products or usage situations, managing screening programmes and using the associated data.

If your question is not one of those FAQs highlighted below, please contact us without delay, we’re always delighted to help!

Each SchoolScreener® Vision Screening Kit contains the following:

  • 2 x pairs of occluding glasses (sizes for younger and older children)
  • 2 x + 2.50 strength reading glasses (sizes for younger and older children)
  • 3 metre tape measure
  • Match card
  • Remote control for use with your laptop.

The vision screening kit will be dispatched within 2 working days of order. Additional sets of screening kit are available for a charge. For current prices, please contact us.

  • The software is designed for children aged between 4 and 18 years. However, adult software is also available, if required. Contact us for further details.
  • The vision and hearing tests are most often used with children at the lower end of the age range. That said, we have designed user interfaces suitable for older children, too. For vision select either a video or blank option. For hearing, select the pictorial test interface.
  • Automated administration and data management, including audit, is applicable for any age group.
  • Body Mass Index (BMI) is suitable for ages 4-18 only. See our blog, ‘Why do we calculate BMI for children?‘ to understand why BMI varies by age.
  • For vision screening the software simply measures crowded LogMAR acuity by presenting a crowded LogMAR stimulus on a computer screen rather than a card. The software reports in either crowded LogMAR or Snellen (Snellen is more widely used in the United States; crowded LogMAR is more widely used outside the US). Screening criteria are set according to local requirements in any district.
  • The Hearing and BMI modules are set according to local requirements. For Hearing screening there are options for an on-screen game or manual testing. The advantage of the game is that it is impossible for the adult delivering the screening to lead the child’s responses.
  • BMI measuring is carried out as per current practice for the NCMP and the height and weight measurements are entered into the laptop. The software does the rest, including administration.

SchoolScreener® – for vision, hearing, immunisation and BMI screening for the NCMP. The software manages entire, district-wide screening processes. For vision screening this includes the measuring of visual acuity, performing a blur test for hypermetropia and tests for vision. In regards to hearing screening, the software generates customised letters for parents, manages the referral pathway and generates management and audit reports. It uses a combination of software loaded onto a laptop and a cloud-based back-end for co-ordinating screening across multiple sites. Additional tests can be added (stereopsis and fixation disparity, for example) as can additional data fields if required.

  • Using the software can result in up to a 75% cost saving, or many more children can be screened for the same budget.
  • The main savings are derived from: All administration, management reporting and audits are automated, district-wide ((i.e.Borough/Town/County/District etc).
  • The ability to use non-clinicians to deliver screening (which also enable clinical resources to be deployed for full Optometric or Audiological assessments).
  • The advantage of using a computer screen rather than printed card is that the luminescence and contrast are not dependent on ambient illumination, which is very hard to control when screening in a school.
  • Additionally, the screener simply has to record the number of correctly identified letters and at each size, which virtually eliminates scoring and transcription errors. The software includes an interface (cartoon animation – for younger children) with instructions that help you to engage the child, making the test more accessible. The software is available in a vast number of languages.
  • Additional value is added by the software completely managing all back office administration, including:
    • Generating letters for parents,
    • Managing the referral pathway for each child, and
    • Management information and audits, according to local requirements.
  • SchoolScreener is also designed to be used with manual testing.
  • For district-wide screening programmes, your activity is fully controlled by your clinicians and administrators. Each has access to a dashboard, set according to your organization’s requirements. Area-wide reporting and screening outcomes, including outcomes per screener, are fully transparent, delivering full and timely oversight.
  • The software manages screening quality according to a locality’s screening criteria, and calculates/reports on the results. Clinicians and management remain in full control. Screening criteria are according to local requirements.
  • There is no manual data input or output, thereby eliminating transcription errors.
  • All SchoolScreener® modules conform to all international data compliance requirements,  including GDPR in the EU and the UK. (Also, HIPAA in the United States.)
  • For more information, click on the Privacy and Terms and Conditions links, here and at the bottom of each page.

  • Essentially the screening and functions are the same but they are delivered using different technology. Screening results (and some basic functions) are available without an internet connection but to maximise the effectiveness of the software, certain recommended functions are only available on-line.
  • Using SchoolScreener® to manage area-wide programs, screening can be delivered either off- or on-line. Delivery of area-wide management/reporting/analysis requires screeners to periodically synchronise with servers.

We use the Neitz Test (University of Washington; Professor Jay Neitz). This consists of using the printed Neitz Test card with the screener clicking on the screen according to the child’s response. The software analyses the outcome and reports back. We chose the Neitz test because  no common standard for colour representation on computer screens exists. We have worked closely with Professor Neitz to deliver the testing within SchoolScreener®.

Additional interfaces exist for older children and adults. New interfaces and languages are being added regularly. If you have a particular requirements (age group, ethnicity or style) please email us and we are happy to consider adding any new ideas.

The data is uploaded from an Excel or CSV file. This is suitable for most systems. If you require further integration, this is done via our API. Please contact us with your requirements.

  • Adjust them according to locality requirements.
  • They may be in any language.
  • Print or email them.
  • Referral information according to your requirements.

Department of Optometry, City, University of London (England)  by a team lead by Professor David Thomson, Life Fellow, The College of Optometrists

  • SchoolScreener® – extensively used since 2013 in the NHS to manage area wide screening (i.e. all schools in a county or town) – using administrative staff.
  • In Philadelphia since 2015: 18,000 children aged 4-14  by the Philadelphia Eagles Community Foundation. The Eagles use volunteers from their sponsors to deliver screening. Volunteers are managed by a School Nurse and the programme is overseen  by an Optometrist. Screening began elsewhere in the USA in 2019.
  • In a number of developing countries.
  • In the UK, the primary target conditions are amblyopia, significant myopia, hypermetropia and astigmatism. Other conditions may be detected as part of the screening, but are not considered as target conditions by the NHS.
  • Parents should receive clear and unequivocal instructions in the form of a written report. A clear pathway should be in place to ensure that those children who fail the screening receive a secondary examination and an appropriate intervention, if required.
  • Mechanisms should be in place to audit the entire screening process including information about the number of children screened, the numbers who fail the screening, the proportion of fail positives who received a secondary examination and the positive predictive value.
  • SchoolScreener® provides a series of tools to facilitate and manage the screening process so that the service is clinician led through the reporting from the software (as granular as outcome by screener) but screening need not be delivered by a clinician.

Any of:

  • The UK’s Department of Health HSCIC Database
  • The CDC BMI Database BMI Database
  • The World Health Organisation BMI database

For vision screening, you get a Vision Screening Kit for each school. The standard vision screening kit for SchoolScreener® Vision contains the following:

  • 2 x pairs of occluding glasses (sizes for younger and older children)
  • 2 x + 2.50 strength reading glasses (sizes for younger and older children)
  • 3 metre tape measure
  • Match card
  • Remote control for use with your laptop.

IN ADDITION, if you intend to test color vision we will include 2 x Neitz Color Vision test charts.

  • For hearing screening, you will receive an Audiometer, hard-wired to your laptop, that manages the tones used in the tests. In addition, you receive a set of high quality headphones that are hard-wired to the audiometer.
  • If you have further questions, please contact us.
  • Yes, it is.
  • Although the software was developed for children, adult software is also available. Contact us for details

Automated end-to-end, according to your locality’s requirements.

Automated end-to-end, according to your locality’s requirements.

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