Who do we support?
We give general advice and resources to schools for pupils with less complex needs, whose vision is corrected by glasses.
We offer more targeted and specialist support to schools for pupils with a diagnosis of sight loss, where their vision is not fully corrected by glasses. Most pupils we work with are under the care of the ophthalmology department at the hospital.
The pupils we are likely to work with:
- will be unable to read standard size, age appropriate text
- will need enlarged text resources and a lot of adaptations made to the classroom
- will need to be taught specialist skills to help with their learning such as braille, and need to learn independent living skills.
What can you expect from the service?
For a child under 5, support may take place in the home or pre-school setting. For a school aged child support will be provided in their place of education.
Preschool age
We:
- work directly with children and families, consultants and medical staff on vision development
- support families and settings during a child's transition to early years settings and school
- suggest activities for your child, such as books and games which help to develop skills
- provide guidance on how to develop your child's mobility and independent living skills through our habilitation specialists
DOVES:
DOVES is a pre-school group for children who are blind/ partially sighted. Its aim is to help families and carers to support the development of their child’s visual, mobility, social, communication and independence skills, so that they can start school with confidence. DOVES allows parents and carers to learn from specialist staff and each other and develop support networks early on.
DOVES happens in Welwyn Garden City, every 2 weeks during term time and are open to all pre-school children who are on caseload with our team.
At school
Our Specialist Advisory Teachers:
- assess the child to identify need and provide tailored advice
- teach pupils to read and write in Braille
- provide technical support for pupils using sight loss equipment
- advise how to modify resources and improve the classroom environment to help pupils learn alongside their classmates
- offer ongoing training to staff, to give them the resources and skills they need to support their pupils with confidence.