1. The role of education in preparing young adults with special educational needs and disabilities for adult life: a case study of young people with vision impairment
Graeme Douglas and Rachel Hewett, VICTAR, University of Birmingham

2. Vision Impairment Centre for Teaching and Research (VICTAR)
Department of Disability Inclusion and Special Needs (DISN), School of Education, University of Birmingham
Two research & teaching centres
VICTAR
ACER (Autism Centre for Education and Research)
Largest UK provider of Mandatory Qualification for Teachers of Children with Vision Impairment
Educational Psychology (ApEd&ChildPsyD)
Masters/PhD students

3. Overview Current context and where we are coming from
How prepared were the participants in the Longitudinal Transitions Study for adult life?
Challenges faced by specialist educational services
What can we do about it?

4. 1. Current context, and where we are coming from

5. Starting point
DfE context (England): CoP and ‘Preparing for Adulthood’
Links to the conceptions and literatures in the field of Vision Impairment Education
Carol B. Allman and Sandra Lewis (2014) ECC essentials: teaching the expanded core curriculum to students with visual impairments. AFB Press.
“Beginning with the end in mind”
“Focussing on the potential adult”

7. Preparing for Adulthood - The Code of Practice
Start early – understand the interests, strengths and motivations of children and young people and use these to plan
All professionals working with families should support children and young people to make choices for themselves
The Local Offer must include provision which will help children and young people prepare for adulthood and independent living
Local authorities have a legal duty to ensure that all reviews of EHC plans from Year 9 onwards include a focus on preparing for adulthood
New tool to support the development of outcomes related to PfA: tool

8. EHC plans post-19 Should include opportunities to:
experience the world of work
develop independence skills in an adult context
LAs must not cease an EHC plan simply because the YP turns 19
New DfE resource on EHC plan eligibility: entitlement-to-ehc-plans
SEND Code of Practice reference to ‘independence’:

9. SEN Code of Practice (2001) --> SEND Code of Practice (2015)
Word/meaning
CoP 2001
CoP 2015
Page length
142 pages
292 pages
Independence/independent as an educational outcome 3 54
Outcome (for the young person) 17
221
Curriculum/curricular
125 25

10. Links to the field of Vision Impairment Education
Traditional interest in “broad and balanced curriculum”
Inclusive teaching (accessible and modified materials, environmental audits and adjustments, peer and staff awareness training)
Concepts of independence (mobility, living skills, technology), additional curricula, “Expanded Core Curriculum” (ECC)
Dual role
“Access to learning” AND “Learning to access”

11. Child’s age / developmental level (Time)
Providing
‘Access to Learning’
Teaching
‘Learning to Access’
Increased independence;
Emphasis upon additional curriculum

12. Working through the model
Teaching young and developmentally young pupils will involve the teacher emphasising ‘access to learn’ strategies, e.g.
Enlarged text books; use of teaching assistants for curriculum access tasks; sighted guide when moving around the school; specialist accessible teaching resources.
The teacher will emphasise ‘learning to access’ strategies to encourage independence. This emphasis will increase as the child gets older, e.g.
Low vision aids; touch typing; use of computers / laptops; provision of electronic files rather than hard copy material; independent mobility; self advocacy.

13. Educational Inclusion - Interactive and progressive -
Access to learning
Learning to access
Equal access to education
Development of individual agency
Socially focussed – adjustments to physical and social environment
Individually focussed – development of the individual
‘here and now’ focus?
‘longer term’ focus?
Core / academic curriculum – emphasising academic attainment
Additional curriculum – emphasising independence, life after school
Adjustment and accommodations
Teaching of skills
Examples: inclusive practice / pedagogy; peer training; environmental audits; material development; inclusive design; teacher support
Examples: Expanded Core Curriculum (mobility, technology, visual training, independent living skills, self advocacy); habilitation workers
Dangers: learnt helplessness; post-school cliff; some strategies may emphasise difference (TAs)
Dangers: may detract from shared curriculum; difference may be emphasised;
Educational Inclusion
- Interactive and progressive -

14. An aside: Inclusion, dilemma’s and tensions
Norwich (2013). Addressing tensions and dilemmas in inclusive education: Living with uncertainty. New York, NY: Routledge.
Inclusive education must navigate education systems that contain dilemmas, most notably: education systems that treat people the same on one hand (but might be insensitive to their differences) and respond to people’s difference on the other (which might stigmatise and hinder them on that basis). Notable dilemmas of difference:
Identification-non-identification of some children having SEND;
Curriculum commonality-differentiation (inclusive curriculum); and
Common-separate teaching and learning settings (“inclusive pedagogy” and “inclusive schooling”)

15. An aside: Inclusion, dilemma’s and tensions
Shared curriculum – everyone needs to be independent don’t they?
Additional and expanded curriculum – but aren’t some things so important (and perhaps nuanced and disability specific?) that they should be considered as additional in case they are forgotten?
Alternative curriculum – there can be a danger that focussing upon an alternative curriculum will simply exclude from the shared…?
You might reflect upon the concept of the Expanded Core Curriculum, how comfortable you are with it, and how / if it can be applied to other SEND groups?

16. Back to vision impairment… Accessing information independently in lessons
professionals-education-professionals/technology-education
Video of Ben

18. 2. Longitudinal Transitions Project
Background: In 2010 we recruited 82 young people:
aged years (now 20-23)
supported by service for their vision impairment
‘independently complete a questionnaire’
60 participants are still involved
Interviewed approx. twice a year
plus case studies in relation to different ‘pathways’
Findings can be found:
RNIB website; NatSIP website

19. Background to the project
INDEPENDENT LIVING
ENABLERS
LABOUR MARKET – EMPLOYMENT VS NEET
COMPULSORY EDUCATION
????
FULFILLING POTENTIAL
BARRIERS

20. LABOUR MARKET – EMPLOYMENT VS NEET
What happens at age 16?
INDEPENDENT LIVING
LABOUR MARKET – EMPLOYMENT VS NEET
COMPULSORY EDUCATION
????
FULFILLING POTENTIAL

21. What happens when I am 16?
Where do people go after compulsory education?
Well educated (higher than national average) and optimistic
Many remained in education – sixth form, FE
Many went to university
Some into employment and apprenticeships
But increasingly:
Churning
Some long-term ‘not in education employment or training’ (NEET)
Higher then expected dropped out of university or repeated years
Few living independently, and anxiety about employment

22. What happens when I am 16?
Transition planning: how helpful did the participants find it?
Positive: 30%
Negative: 42%
Neutral: 27%
“I think I have already said, but reviews were generally not very pleasant affairs, they were kind of intimidating, really stressful and they usually ended up in arguments. I am pretty sure that the reason I got the key worker was because I turned round and said I didn’t want to attend them anymore”
“…actually the time at which a meeting probably would have been most helpful would have been in Sixth Form, the transition to university”

23. From school to FE
Video about Siraj
What do you think about the support Siraj talked about?
What do you think worked?
And what might have been different?

25. LABOUR MARKET – EMPLOYMENT VS NEET
Reflections: How prepared were the participants in the Longitudinal Transitions Study for adult life?
INDEPENDENT LIVING
ENABLERS
LABOUR MARKET – EMPLOYMENT VS NEET
COMPULSORY EDUCATION
????
FULFILLING POTENTIAL
BARRIERS

26. Previous work experience
Some YP completed school with no work experience
Many of those who did found it extremely valuable
“Learning to go to a new place, going and talking to people on my own that was quite a good experience. That’s what I would say it was best for, meeting new people and speaking to them for the first time on my own.”
Lack of work experience a barrier

27. Skills for accessing information
Strategies for accessing information not necessarily appropriate for next stage in life
Limited knowledge of specialist software
Limited knowledge of LVAs
Case study: Aimee

28. Skills for getting around independently
Majority of participants confident to get around local area independently
Around half unprepared to get around in new areas & to get around using public transport
Researcher: On reflection how prepared would you be for doing that? Say you wanted to, there was a job in a different town and you wanted to get there independently, how prepared…
Participant: I just wouldn’t, I wouldn’t put myself in that situation.
“Yeah it was very helpful, it boosted my confidence, even now when I don’t know where I am going I do feel more confident because I know I can do it if I concentrate.”

29. Explaining vision impairment
41% report felt unprepared to explain their vision impairment
Only 1 participant recalled receiving guidance
“No, and it was actually harder than I thought to explain to someone. Because I was so used to being in a college where everyone knew what a VI was. And now I am back into a place where no one really knows. I think it took a good couple of months for even just my flat mates to start realising the nature of my sight.”
“Oh definitely more than prepared for it. In terms of guidance because my parents were fairly… they were open about it to people, they have not really held back in telling people that I am blind, they have actually encouraged, openly told people to make things more accessible for me.”

30. From Sixth Form/FE to HE
Video about Jasmine
What types of skills did Jasmine need to draw upon once in HE?

32. 3. Challenges faced by specialist VI education services
Policy challenges
National education policy and legislative changes
SEND Code of Practice (2001) --> (2015)
19-25 agenda emphasised
Independence as an educational outcome is emphasised
But no curriculum space!
Overarching education policy is emphasising:
Narrower curriculum and attainment outcomes
Inspection system which focusses upon this
Funding direct to schools

33. 3. Challenges faced by specialist VI education services
Funding challenges, e.g.
Austerity/cuts in central government funding to LAs and schools
Cuts to VI service funding - reduced capacity and fewer specialist staff
Caseloads increasing in size and complexity;
Raising of thresholds for specialist support/reducing levels of support
Funding direct to schools – different relationship with LA services
School as purchaser of QTVI support, direct employment of TAs
In a context of extending entitlement to age 25, and a concern about expertise in that area

34. 4. What can we do about it?
A key challenge facing educators and policy makers is knowing how to include the ECC and the academic curriculum “given the time constraints of the school day” (Wolffe and Kelly, 2011, p. 341)
Making the service position clear – The ‘offer’
Brent LA VTS – 8 outcomes
Learning to access
Use of equipment
Independence and negotiation skills
Participation
Meeting others
Getting around
Looking after him/herself
Life after school

35. But it often works – and when it does… it’s transformative:
“I can’t really emphasise how helpful she has been, to be honest. Because she has been consistent since when I was 14 all the way to now, she has always been a support through uni and everything, when I was at [college], finding me these work placements that I did, thinking about when I graduate, she was on the ball… She would help me with my job search and finding somewhere to live if I needed something. So she was a really valuable resource that I have been able to tap into.” (Young person sharing their experience of working with a Transitions Officer)

36. Conclusion and discussion
What’s important?:
Capturing independence and broader curriculum issues in educational planning is very important?
(Core) Curriculum access is also important?
The balance between them is important, and progressive
How can EHC plans (or just individual education plans) capture this?
What is an educational psychologist’s role in this

37. Some useful links
Resources to help young people with vision impairment transitioning into higher education: ‘Starting University’ available at
A toolkit to assist visiting teacher services to design their services around broad educational outcomes (with Brent LA and RNIB) at
Bridging the gap (new version for England on its way), at making-transition-school/transition-guide-bridging-gap
BBC’s “Too many helping hands”, at

38. Some useful links
Transitions conference and videos
VICTAR blog
Recent project summary report available at:

39. References, e.g.
Douglas et al (2012) Measuring Educational Engagement, Progress and Outcomes for Children with Special Educational Needs: A Review. National Council for Special Education (NCSE), Trim, Ireland.
Douglas, G., McLinden, M., Robertson, C., Travers, J., and Smith, E. (2016) Including pupils with special educational needs and disability in national assessment: Comparison of three country case studies through an inclusive assessment framework. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 63(1),
McLinden, M., Douglas, G., Cobb, R., Hewett, R. and Ravenscroft, J. (2016). Access to learning’ and ‘learning to access’: Analysing the distinctive role of specialist teachers of children and young people with vision impairments in facilitating curriculum access through an ecological systems theory. British Journal of Visual Impairment, 34(2) 179–197.

40. Contact details
Graeme Douglas: Rachel VICTAR website: VICTAR blog: