More than one in 10 children in the UK could have undiagnosed eye conditions that are delaying their reading, a new report has found.

The Education Endowment Foundation has published a review of research on what nurseries can do to help children start school ready to read, write and communicate.

It includes urging early years professionals to make sure that all their children with possible eyesight problems are identified

“Making sure all young children with possible eyesight problems are identified, and those that are given glasses or other treatments use them is a cheap way of removing this unnecessary barrier to learning. It should be a no-brainer,” said Sir Kevan Collins, chief executive of the EEF.

The report points out that many children have common eye conditions such as short-sightedness, astigmatism or squints.

The NHS funds eye examinations and glasses for children, but many families do not use this service and screening varies by area.

Speaking at the Commons Education Select Committee earlier this week, Sir Kevan said testing children’s eyesight had dropped off the agenda.

He told MPs: “One in 10 (3 per cent) of children, we believe, in England who are not reading well haven’t had eye problems properly diagnosed… So there are lots of practical things we need to do… it’s a fundamental barrier to reading if you can’t see.”

As well as encouraging nurseries and early years settings to ensure three and four-year-olds get their eyes tests, the report Preparing for Literacy also recommends the focusing on the quality of interactions between children and adults.

It suggests using a range of different activities such as nursery rhymes to develop children’s ability to hear sounds and giving a wide range of opportunities for children to communicate through writing.