A charity screening children for sight and hearing problems at schools in high-need areas now has a fully kitted-out optometry bus - and big plans to roll the service out to reach more regions and adults too.

Creating and maintaining the conditions for learning for tamariki burdened by compounding hardship is a relentless and all-consuming challenge for school leaders. In Papakura, that burden is lightened by community partners who share a fierce commitment to educational equity.

The hearing and vision of Clevedon School students was checked last week, thanks to support from charity Painga Project.

An Auckland charity has found 25 percent of children across three schools are suffering with eyesight problems after running hearing and vision tests.

A volunteer-run charity group focused on the wellbeing and health of students is changing the lives of south Auckland kids, one hearing and vision test at a time. Painga Project has been testing primary and intermediate-aged schoolchildren in low decile South Auckland schools for two years.

Wearing glasses for the first time or getting their hearing problems treated had been life changing for students at Edmund Hillary School - both inside and outside the classroom, according to principal Kataraina Nock.

Poor eyesight and hearing are hindering learning for one in four South Auckland primary school children tested by the Painga Project.