1. Bournemouth, Poole & Dorset SENCO Forum Training
Monday 22nd January 2018
Identifying the needs of sensory impaired (SI) learners
Bev Mars & Caireen Sutherland – NatSIP Associates

2. How can we raise awareness of the needs of SI learners in this session?
What is NatSIP and why are we here?
What does the Code of Practice say about SI learners?
What do you know about SI learners?
What does Quality First Teaching for SI learners look like?
Accessibility plans
NatSIP web-site and Sensory Learning Hub
Technology support for SI learners
What do you know about SI learners now?
Evaluation and questions

3. NatSIP is a unique national partnership of professionals and voluntary organisations working with children and young people with sensory impairment (SI) and their families
The purpose of NatSIP is to improve outcomes for children and young people with sensory impairment through promoting collaborative working between education, health and social care professionals
Details, published guidance and outcomes from the NatSIP workstreams, including from the contract programme, can be found on the NatSIP website:

4. What is “Low incidence” special educational need and disability (LISEND)?
A need which has the potential to have an adverse impact on learning and development unless additional measures are taken to support the child/young person
The prevalence rate is so low that a mainstream setting is unlikely to have sufficient knowledge and experience to meet these requirements. Settings will need to obtain specialist support and advice on how to ensure equitable access and progression (against national standards)
The prevalence rate is so low that any formula for allocating specialist resources for additional needs, which is based on proxy indicators of need, will not reflect the true distribution of children and young people identified as having low incidence SEND
NatSIP August 2012

5. NatSIP contract with the DfE 2017 – 18 Objective 1: To enhance the capacity and knowledge base of the front line workforce “Every teacher is a teacher of children with SEN and disabilities” – and with LISEND you need more help!
Some key delivery objectives for the contract which support SENCOs:
NatSIP website:
The Sensory Learning Hub
Development of What Works guides, including Technology
Online Training:
Recruiting more learners and schools/settings to OLT SI courses
Include OLT FE module for HI and VI
Courses are free to access until March 2018

6. We need your help with this please!
Development of face to face training and support materials for SENCOs - working with national SENCO qualification providers and SENCO
forums to deliver awareness training and develop training materials
Develop a mainstream SI training pack - to deliver with local SI services
We need your help with this please!
Technology - easy to use Technology guide
Face to face training - 2-day courses for TAs supporting HI, VI or MSI
children and young people
Examination access - online awareness raising resource
16 – 25yrs - regional events for providers of apprenticeships for HI and VI
young people

7. Sensory impairment in context:
DfE data (July 2017) for January
Increase in pupils with SEND from 1,228,785 to 1,244,255
Percentage of pupils with SEN 14.4% (stable)
25.2% of pupils with SEN support - Moderate Learning Difficulty
26.9% of pupils with Statement or EHC Plan - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
Pupils with sensory impairments (hearing impairment, visual impairment and multi-sensory impairment) are significantly lower with only 2.8% of pupils receiving SEN support and 4.3% of pupils with Statement or EHC Plan.

8. Headline data: numbers and provision
Deaf:
46,000 deaf children in England ;
78% of school-age deaf children attend mainstream schools with no specialist provision
6% attend mainstream schools with resource provisions
3% attend special schools for deaf children
12% attend special schools not specifically for deaf children
22% have an additional need
Support from specialists services needs to be targeted to mainstream schools

9. Headline data: numbers and provision
24,500 under 16
66% in mainstream schools
33% other special schools
2% specialist schools for VI (10 schools)
50% have an additional disability/health need
(Source: RNIB 2016)
16,701 pupils VI primary or secondary need. 39% with EHC Plan (Source: DfE 2016)
MSI Estimated 4000 under 19s (Source: UK CeDR research 2010) 16% in mainstream education 41% in specialist deaf/VI or MSI provision 43% in other special schools (Source: Sense 2014)

10. Code of Practice: Chapter 6
Involving specialists
Early identification of SEN and effective support and interventions
Where a pupil makes little or no progress or where they are working substantially below ARE despite evidenced based SEN support
“Where an assessment indicates that support from specialist services is required, it is important that children and young people receive it as quickly as possible” 6:60
Starting point – Local Offer which should include information
on your sensory services

11. Code of Practice: Chapter 6
…specialist teachers or support services, including specialist teachers with a mandatory qualification for children with hearing and vision impairment, including multi-sensory impairment…. 6:61 The SENCO and the class teacher, along with the specialists, and involving the pupil’s parents, should consider a range of evidence-based and effective teaching approaches, appropriate equipment, strategies and interventions in order to support the child’s progress 6:62

12. What do you know about learners with SI?

13. Outcomes for SI learners (…
Outcomes for SI learners (….there is a policy imperative to have reliable data: ‘Because children don’t count if they are not counted…..’)
Academic outcomes for pupils with SI will vary significantly depending on additional needs
All should make good or better progress from their different starting points
Good progress should also be evidenced in terms of:
Language and communication skills
Use of assistive technology
Independent living skills
Employability

14. Educational implications of SI
Language development
Impact of language deficit on all areas of development – all curriculum areas
Perceived language ability vs actual understanding
Loss of incidental learning/access to information
Impact on social and emotional development
Impact on inclusion in all activities within school
Impact on parental confidence to support
Independence skills

15. Implications for educational provision
Access to qualified (MQ) teacher HI, VI and MSI
Additional specialist support; Teaching Assistant, Communication Support Worker, Educational Audiologist, Intervenor
Specialist equipment and technology
Environmental adaptations
Adaptation of curriculum resources
Adaptation of teaching strategies
Specialist curriculum – independence skills, mobility, braille
Support for social and emotional development
Parental support
All underpinned by a multi-agency approach offering equality of opportunity for SI learners

16. Quality first teaching
The day-to-day interactions between teacher and pupil in the classroom provide the bedrock for the effective development of personalised learning.
So called ‘quality first’ teaching seeks to engage and support the learning of all children and young people.
It builds on the pupils’ prior learning and responds appropriately to the ‘pupil voice’.
The key challenge for personalisation in the classroom is how to cater simultaneously for all the different needs in one class.
Personalised Learning A Practical Guide DCSF 2008

17. What does Quality First Teaching for SI learners look like?
What would you expect to see in place for children and young people with:
A hearing impairment
A vision impairment
A multi-sensory impairment

18. What does Quality First Teaching for SI learners look like?
Adapting the classroom environment
Management of specialist equipment
Communication strategies
Differentiating lessons
Additional specialist support

19. Accessibility plan: legal context
Definition of Disability
According to the Equality Act 2010, a person has a disability if: a) He or she has a physical or mental impairment. b) The impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.
Legal Background
Under the Equality Act 2010 all schools must have an Accessibility Plan. The Equality Act 2010 replaced all existing equality legislation including the DDA. The effect of the law is the same as in the past, meaning that:
‘Schools cannot lawfully discriminate against pupils because of sex, race,
disability, religion or belief and sexual orientation’.

20. Accessibility plan
Three areas required by the planning duties in the DDA:
Increase the extent to which pupils with disabilities can participate in the curriculum
Improve the environment to enable disabled pupils to take better advantage of education and associated services
Improve the availability of accessible information for disabled pupils
In pairs discuss your school’s current accessibility plan, identify existing good practice for learners with SI and identify actions that need to be taken to improve the plan

21. NatSIP website The front page: Diary dates
Quick links; EHC Plans, Outcomes Benchmarking and Exams and Access
Sensory Learning Hub:
Getting Started – introductory guide to top resources which signposts reader to additional specialist documents
About Sensory Impairment – basic facts about HI, VI and MSI including guidance on levels of hearing loss and how clinical measurement of vision translates to print size
What Works database:
A database of resources used across the Sensory Impairment sector isan integral part of the Sensory Learning Hub
Regularly updated by professionals in the field (via NatSIP editorial board)

22. Currently being developed…
The mainstream SI training pack
What would you find useful in such a resource?
We would like to know….