Educational support for vision impaired students
Birth to 4 years
As Specialist Teachers of Deaf Children and Young People we will offer support at home and in your child's early years setting.
We will offer support at home or in your child's early years setting. Our aim is to help you and your family understand your child's eye condition and how it might impact their life.
We will do this by:
- visiting early years settings with you to support the transition
- carrying out individual assessments on your child
- writing reports where appropriate
- loaning specialist equipment
- recommending resources you could buy
- helping you track your child's learning if they are not in a setting
- supporting your child with transition to school
We will also support the early years setting by:
- giving advice to early years practitioners about learning and resources
- giving advice about the environment and any adaptations required
- training for all those involved with the child
- advising on target setting for the child
- support with requesting an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)
Saturday Smilers
Our Saturday Smilers group is an informal opportunity for deaf or visually impaired children and their families to get together once a month. It is open to children from birth to 7 years old. Extended family members and friends are welcome. All eligible children will be sent an invite to attend.
5 to 16 years
We will offer support for your child in school. Our aim is to help your child access the school curriculum and safely access the school environment.
We will do this by:
- visiting schools and transition to a new school
- regularly assessing your child's functional vision
- providing specialist vision impairment equipment
We will support the school by:
- giving advice about the environment and any adaptations required
- advising on modifications of learning materials
- advising on special arrangements for school assessments or exams
- training for all those involved with the child
- advising on target setting for the child
- providing direct teaching to Braille users and training school staff to be able to meet the needs of Braille users
- contributing to annual reviews of a child's Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)
16 to 25 years
We will offer support to young people with visual impairment while they are still in education. Our aim is to help young people access post 16 settings and travel independently.
We will do this by:
- visiting and supporting the transition to post 16 setting
- advising on access to learning, including exams, coursework or practical work
- looking at opportunities beyond further education
We will support post 16 settings by:
- giving advice about the environment and any adaptations required
- offering training for all those involved with the young person
- advising on access to different courses or apprenticeships
Qualified Habilitation specialist
A Qualified Habilitation Specialist (QHS) supports children and young people, in the home, at their education setting or in the community. Referrals are made by the Specialist Teacher Adviser working with the child or young person.
They aim to:
- develop the child's independence
- improve the child's mobility
- support daily living skills
They will do this by:
- assessing areas of need
- planning and implementing age-appropriate individual mobility programmes for pupils
- providing training in the use of mobility aids and other equipment
- providing age-appropriate training for daily living skills
- processing the certificate of vision impairment and issue a yellow card which states your child is registered partially or severely sight impaired
- providing support when transitioning to new school environments
- support for the education setting
- a QHS will support the education setting by planning and implementing programmes for children and young people to use within their setting
- liaising with and training all staff working with the child
- contributing to requests and reviews for Education, Health and Care Plans
- providing advice on environmental adaptations for accessibility
- liaising with other professionals, such as Occupational Therapists