1. Supporting young people with vision impairment through post-16 transition
10th November 2017
Impact Hub Birmingham

2. Agenda
pm: Introduction (Mike McLinden, VICTAR) pm: Overview of key findings from the LTS (Graeme Douglas and Rachel Hewett (VICTAR), Sue Keil(VIEW)) pm: Reflections from a Local Authority Service (Kay Wrench, Oldham VI service) pm: Introduction to the sector campaign (Lucy Dixon, RNIB) pm: Refreshment break pm: Discussion in small groups pm: Refreshment break pm: Where do we go from here? (Rory Cobb, VIEW)

3. Introduction to ESRC Festival of Social Science

4. The role of education in preparing young adults with special educational needs and disabilities for adult life
Rachel Hewett and Graeme Douglas, VICTAR, University of Birmingham Sue Keil, VIEW

5. 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?

6. 1. Current context, and where we are coming from
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”

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
CoP reference to ‘independence’

9. 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”

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

11. 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. 2. How prepared were the participants in the LTS for adult life?
Background: In 2010 we recruited 82 young people:
aged years (now 21-24)
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’

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

15. Reflections of the participants - Hewett, Douglas & Keil (2017)
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”

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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.”

19. 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.”

21. 3. Challenges faced by specialist VI education services
National context:
Austerity/cuts in central government funding to LAs and schools
National education policy and legislative changes
National government consultations on education and funding
Main sources of evidence:
RNIB FOI requests to local authorities
RNIB responses to individual LA consultations on VI service re-organisation
What VIEW members tell us is happening to their services

22. Effects of austerity and national policy and legislative changes on VI education provision
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
Academisation programme and delegation of responsibility and funding to schools
School as purchaser of QTVI support
QTVI role more advisory and less direct input? – less control
TAs recruited and employed by schools – training? supervision?
Tension between national education policy and SEND policy – schools measured by academic outcomes; COP > social and independence outcomes
SEND Code of Practice – extending entitlement to age 25

23. Implications for VI services’ ability to support YP into independent adulthood
VI services facing four key challenges in supporting YP with VI into adulthood
Difficulties in ensuring school age provision meets wider range of needs/non- academic outcomes for pupils with VI
Lack of expertise in providing post-16 support
Lack of resources to provide specialist support through transition and into post-school settings
FE colleges refusing to engage/buy in VI service expertise

24. 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

25. 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)

26. 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

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

28. References
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),
Hewett, R., Douglas, G., and Keil, S. (2017) Reflections of Transition Experiences by Young People with Vision Impairments aged Vision Impairment Centre for Teaching and Research, University of Birmingham.
Keil S (2016) Freedom of Information (FOI) questions on local authority education provision for children and young people with vision impairment in England: RNIB service-provision-2015
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.

29. Contact details
Graeme Douglas: Rachel Sue Keil: VICTAR website: VICTAR blog: VIEW website: