Comprehensive eye test: Included
OCT scan: Yes (excluding Lytham & Wakefield)
Optomap® scan: Lytham & Wakefield only
Cost for eligible children: Free eye test + £19.50
What it provides: A comprehensive eye test plus detailed OCT imaging
Comprehensive eye test: Included
OCT scan: Yes
Optomap® scan: Yes
Cost for eligible children: Free eye test + £29.50
What it provides: Our most in-depth option, combining OCT with a wider Optomap® view of the retina
Comprehensive eye test: Included
OCT scan: No
Optomap® scan: No
Cost for eligible children: Free
What it provides: A thorough check of your child’s vision and eye health
Comprehensive eye test: Included
OCT scan: Yes (excluding Lytham & Wakefield)
Optomap® scan: Lytham & Wakefield only
Cost for eligible children: Free eye test + £19.50
What it provides: A comprehensive eye test plus detailed OCT imaging
Comprehensive eye test: Included
OCT scan: Yes
Optomap® scan: Yes
Cost for eligible children: Free eye test + £29.50
What it provides: Our most in-depth option, combining OCT with a wider Optomap® view of the retina
Comprehensive eye test: Included
OCT scan: No
Optomap® scan: No
Cost for eligible children: Free
What it provides: A thorough check of your child’s vision and eye health
Every eligible child can have their standard eye test free through the NHS. You can also choose to add advanced eye imaging if you’d like a more detailed picture of their eye health.
Our Advanced Eye Test adds an OCT scan to your child’s eye exam.
OCT uses light to create detailed images of the structures within the eye, giving your optometrist more information about your child’s eye health and helping them monitor changes over time.
OCT scanning is available at every Bayfields practice and can be added to your child’s free NHS eye test for £19.50.
Our Ultimate Eye Test is the most in-depth eye examination we offer for children. It combines an OCT scan with optomap® retinal imaging.
While OCT gives your optometrist detailed images of structures within the eye, optomap® provides a much wider view of the retina, including more of the peripheral areas.
Our Ultimate Eye Test is available at selected Bayfields practices and costs £29.50 in addition to a child’s free NHS eye test.
If this is your child’s first appointment, it’s only natural to wonder what will happen on the day, and even feel a bit nervous. That’s why we keep things calm, friendly and easy to follow.
Your optometrist will adapt the appointment to your child, rather than expect them to go through the same tests in the same way as an adult.
Here’s a quick run-through of what to expect from your kids’ eye test appointment:
Your optometrist will begin by asking about your child’s vision and general health.
They may also ask whether you’ve noticed anything different at home or school, whether your child already wears glasses and whether there is any relevant family history of eye conditions.
We’ll explain each part in simple, reassuring language so your child always knows what’s happening.
Your child doesn’t need to know the alphabet to have their sight checked.
For younger children, we can use pictures, shapes and matching activities instead of traditional letter charts.
This helps us see how well each eye is working and whether your child might need glasses.
Your optometrist may carry out different checks depending on your child’s age and needs.
These checks help us see how well your child’s eyes focus, move and work together.
Your optometrist will examine your child’s eyes to check their eye health and identify anything that may need further attention.
Once the checks are finished, we’ll explain what we’ve found in clear language.
If your child’s vision is healthy and no change is needed, we’ll let you know when their next routine appointment should be.
If they need glasses, further monitoring or another type of care, we’ll talk you through the options and make sure there’s plenty of time for questions.
Children’s eye test appointments at Bayfields take around 30 minutes.
The exact length can depend on your child’s age, how they get on with the different checks and whether anything else needs looking at.
What matters is that they have enough time to settle in, understand what’s happening and complete the checks without feeling rushed.
An eye test checks more than whether your child can read the smallest line on a chart.
Your optometrist will also look for signs of common eye and vision conditions, including:
Also known as myopia, short-sightedness can make things further away look blurred or less clear.
If your child is short-sighted, you can also learn more about myopia management at Bayfields.
Long-sightedness can make it harder for your child’s eyes to focus comfortably, particularly on things close to them.
Astigmatism can make your child’s vision look blurred or distorted at different distances.
A squint is where the eyes don’t always point in the same direction.
Amblyopia, often called lazy eye, is when the vision in one eye doesn’t develop as well as the other.
Some children find it harder to tell certain colours apart.
If you’d like to learn more, you can explore our full guide to eye health conditions.
For some children, contact lenses can be a useful alternative to glasses, particularly for sport or as they become more independent.
Suitability depends on the individual child, their prescription and whether they are comfortable managing lenses safely.
Children’s contact lens options may include:
- Myopia-management contact lenses, which are designed to help manage the progression of short-sightedness in suitable children and teenagers.
- Orthokeratology, which uses specially designed lenses worn overnight to temporarily reshape the front of the eye, helping provide clear vision during the day without glasses or daytime contact lenses. You can learn more in our guide to managing short-sightedness with ortho-k lenses.
Suitability depends on your child’s prescription, age, eye health, lifestyle and ability to follow the recommended care routine. Both options require a detailed assessment, professional fitting and regular follow-up appointments. Your optometrist will explain whether they’re suitable and how to care for the lenses.
An eye test is just one part of looking after your child’s sight as they grow.
If you’d like to read a little more, these guides cover some of the vision questions that often come up as children grow.
Yes. NHS-funded eye tests are free for children under 16 and for young people aged 16 to 18 who are in full-time education.
If your child needs glasses, they may also qualify for an NHS optical voucher towards the cost.
If you’d like more detailed imaging of your child’s eyes, an optional OCT scan costs £19.50. Our Ultimate Eye Test, which adds optomap® imaging alongside OCT, costs £29.50 and is available at selected practices.
We recommend that children have an eye test at least every two years, or more often if your child’s optometrist advises it.
If you notice a change in their vision or behaviour before their next routine appointment, you can arrange a test sooner.
A children’s eye test at Bayfields takes around 45 minutes from start to finish.
The exact time can vary depending on your child’s age and what checks are needed, but we’ll always make sure they have enough time to settle in and fully understand what’s happening.
We recommend arranging your child’s first full eye test at around four or five years old, ideally before they start school.
Your child doesn’t need to be able to read first. We can use pictures, shapes and simple matching activities instead of a traditional letter chart.
Possible signs your child might need an eye test include:
Squinting
Frequent eye rubbing
Holding things very close, headaches
Difficulty reading or seeing at school
One eye appearing to turn differently from the other.
Seeing one of these signs doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a problem, but an eye test can help you find out more.
Your optometrist will start by talking to you and your child about their vision and health. They’ll then check how clearly your child can see and examine their eyes.
The appointment is adapted to your child. Younger children can use pictures, shapes and matching activities instead of reading letters from a chart.
Once the test is finished, we’ll explain the results and talk you through what happens next.
Yes. Your child doesn’t need to be able to read letters to have their vision checked.
For younger children, we can use pictures, shapes and simple matching activities instead.
No - school screenings are helpful but not a substitute for a full eye exam by an optometrist. School checks may miss conditions like mild squint or early prescription changes.
Of course. New appointments can feel unfamiliar, particularly for younger children.
Our team takes a patient, friendly approach and explains each part in a way your child can understand. If they need a little more time to settle in, that’s absolutely fine.
Use our practice finder to find your nearest Bayfields and choose an appointment that works for you and your child.
Eligible children can receive an NHS-funded eye test at Bayfields practices across the UK. OCT scanning is available at every practice, while optomap® is available at selected locations.
Who knew looking after little eyes came with so many added benefits?
Explore our latest offers for ways to make more of your family’s eye and hearing care with Bayfields.
