Visual impairment - getting advice (KS1)

This will vary depending on the individual, the activity and the classroom layout.

• Most (but not all) young people with a visual impairment benefit from sitting near to whatever is the focus of the lesson
• Encourage the young person to sit with their peers
• Provide space for the young person to work one to one with a Teaching Assistant (TA) or Specialist Support Assistant (SSA) if needed
• Do not sit the young person facing a window unless they request to do so
• A young person using electrical equipment may need to sit near a socket to avoid the hazard of untidy wires
• The young person may need to move about the classroom freely to view stimuli from close up 

• Make board work clear and uncluttered
• Printed material should be good quality
• Use a simple font – Arial or Helvetica for the older young people; Comic Sans or Sasson for the younger ones
• Pictures and diagrams may need to be modified, not just enlarged 

• Make sure the board is clean and use a good working black marker
• Use a contrasting background for visual demonstrations
• A pen will provide better contrast than a pencil. Fibre tips are especially good for this and come in various levels of thickness

• Make sure that the young person can find their desk easily
• Keep the classroom layout the same
• Keep the classroom tidy (bags under tables etc.)
• Make sure that the young person can find their resources
• Point to the work on the board and read aloud what you write- can they read it back or do they require to move
• The young person should have access to their own copy of the book/worksheet/board notes

• Space makes things more visible
•  Print rather than using cursive script
• More space may be needed on the paper to record answers
• Provide broad lined paper for writing, maths, diagrams, graphs etc.

• Make your writing large enough for the young person to read
• Printed work should be presented in an appropriate size and format
• Enlarged work is usually best reformatted onto A4 rather than A3 paper

A young person with a visual impairment may miss many visual clues in the classroom, such as board work, display boards, body language and facial expressions.

If you have a young person with a visual impairment in your class they may require any or all of the below:

• A flexible teaching approach to compensate for a lack of incidental learning
• A multi-sensory teaching approach suitable for a variety of learning styles
• Adult intervention to ensure they can make independent contributions to classroom activities and discussions
• Extra time to complete classroom tasks 
• A differentiated curriculum specific to the young person in order to remove barriers to learning and promote participation
• Appropriate modification of teaching materials
• Opportunities to gain first hand experience and handle real objects
• Structured opportunities to develop learning skills
• Always address the child by their name

Planning takes time but saves time! Share lesson plans with Specialist Teacher or SSA in as much advance as possible so that:

• Work can be modified and adapted
• Appropriate resources can be located
• Support staff are aware of the objectives and learning outcomes
• Individual learning targets can be addressed

A young person with a visual impairment may need to record information and responses in a different manner to their peers.

Handwriting

• A young person may need specialist paper with heavy lines
• They may express a preference for broad or dark tipped pens
• Individual help may be needed to learn handwriting skills
• The handwriting may not be neat – legibility is the important criterion but check that they can read back their own writing at a later date

ICT

Using an iPad, laptop or desktop may improve legibility and presentation.

Speech

If the young person has not yet mastered an efficient way of recording responses it may be appropriate for them to give their responses to a teacher/assistant or into a recording device. This may be particularly useful where time is at a premium.

Braille

For some young people the use of print is very difficult or impossible. Braille may therefore be a more appropriate skill to learn for reading and recording.

ICT is an invaluable tool for children with a visual impairment in accessing the whole curriculum and making their responses. Many young people will benefit from having access to work through their computer. Furthermore, any work that teachers may produce electronically can easily be transferred into large print or braille and should speak to the Service about this: VITeam@bury.gov.uk

To assist with access to ICT, the following may be beneficial:

• ICT settings can be altered to provide large and well contrasted icons, text and pointers etc.
• Specialist magnification software can enlarge anything that is on screen
• Screen reader software can be used to enable the computer to speak whatever is on the screen
• Young people can learn “hot keys” and short cuts to reduce the use of the mouse
• Clearly contrasted keyboards/Big keys can be beneficial
• Touch typing skills can be taught to reduce the need to look at the keyboard
• The position of the monitor and height of seating should allow close comfortable viewing

Interactive whiteboards with screen sharing capabilities offer significant benefits for visually impaired students, allowing them the access and interaction equal to that if their sighted peers.

• Screen sharing enables students to view the whiteboard content on their own devices, with adjustable magnification, colour contrast, and other display setting to suit their individual needs.
• Work is often prepared in advance for interactive board work.The young person can therefore be given a print copy of whatever is being presented on the board.
• For a child who cannot see the board from their seat, it can be linked to their device via screen sharing.
• Good contrast can be achieved by dimming other light sources in the room. Just be aware that the young person with visual impairment may then struggle more with other activities e.g.writing or moving around.
• Computer fonts are usually easier to read than handwriting

Young people with a visual impairment may require specialist equipment such as low vision devices, sloping boards and tactile equipment. It is important that the school provides storage space that is consistently in the same place and that allows the learner access to it.It is also important that specialist equipment does not isolate the learner from their peers so inclusive use of it in the classroom in key. 

Training

It is important that all support staff working with a young person with a visual impairment receive appropriate training and advice on the individual needs of that young person. The school should provide time for liaison to take place between class teachers and visiting specialist teachers and support staff.

Independence

It is vital that support staff see their job as developing independence and resist the temptation to over-support the young person. They can help develop organisational and self-help skills, but should allow independent work where possible.

Ownership of issues

Class teachers should always maintain the responsibility for curriculum delivery, differentiation for ability and monitoring of progress, although they will often do this in partnership with teaching assistants. The young person should not be seen as the responsibility of the Teaching Assistant or the Peripatetic Support Service. 

When planning educational trips you will need to consider the following:

• Have you done a risk assessment with the young person’s visual difficulties in mind?
• Will it be beneficial to contact the venue to arrange better access• Is additional support required for safety and/or educational reasons?
• All of this should of course take place within the framework of your own school, LEA and DfE's guidelines. THE VI Education Service will provide support on visits where availability allows.

Young people with a visual impairment should be given the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding and may need any of the following:

• Use of flexible recording methods
• Appropriate adult support
• An additional time allowance, with rest breaks if required
• To accommodate needs the child may need a separate room, larger desk, additional lighting or other specialist equipment
• Modified papers may be ordered from exam boards.

Appropriate arrangements should, where necessary, be applied for, to both internal and external agencies. Applications for special arrangements for external examinations will need to be made well in advance. The peripatetic support service will advise on assessment needs and procedures. Practice for assessments should also be the student’s normal practice.