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Sensory Support Service
Learning, growing and Succeeding Together
Training Opportunities offered by the Sensory Support Service
The Sensory Support Service offers a range of high quality training opportunities in the field
of sensory impairment. The courses are open to anyone involved with CYPS and adults who
have a hearing or vision loss or who are deafblind. We offer courses for those working in
educational settings, for health and social care professionals, for those working in colleges,
for parents and for those working in other organisations. A number of our courses are aimed
at Qualified Teachers of the Visually Impaired, Teachers of the Deaf and other specialists in
the field.
Our courses cover a wide range of topics ranging from general awareness, raising of sensory
impairments to developing effective and inclusive practice. The courses are all run by
qualified and experienced staff and the content includes a balance between presentations
and practical activities. Our information is based on the most up to date research ensuring a
good understanding of how theory and knowledge impacts on practice.
We are also able provide bespoke courses tailored to the needs of your staff and setting.
What people say about our courses:
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‘Very helpful to be able to learn about and test the range of equipment currently
available for visually impaired users.’
‘Particularly liked the practical training and learning new ICT skills.’
‘Mobility workshops were very informative and feel I learned a lot through learning
how to do sighted guide techniques’.
‘Importance of learning specialist skills for future life’.
‘Helped me to think about aspects of support from the
learner’s perspective’
Our courses can be tailored to meet your needs, they can be:
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Specific to meet the needs of CYP with sensory impairment in educational settings.
Deaf and/or vision awareness raising sessions
Aimed at professionals from a range of agencies, eg. health visitors, social workers
Parents
etc.
Table of Contents
Specialist Courses on Hearing Impairment............................................................ 1
Deaf Awareness Training ......................................................................................... 1
Impact of hearing loss ............................................................................................. 1
Glue Ear .................................................................................................................. 1
Cochlear Implants ................................................................................................... 2
Effective Teaching Assistant Support for children with a hearing loss .................... 2
Deaf Friendly Environments .................................................................................... 3
Two courses available: Early years settings or Schools and Colleges.............. 3
Young children with hearing loss - Training for health visitors and other health
professionals ........................................................................................................... 3
Maximising the acoustic environment levels 1 and 2 .............................................. 3
Maximising the acoustic environment - Level 1 basic, Level 2 ................................ 4
Specialist Courses on Vision Impairment .............................................................. 4
Vision Awareness Training...................................................................................... 4
Adapting and modifying resources for CYP with VI in mainstream and special
school settings ........................................................................................................ 4
Social Emotional Development ............................................................................... 5
Deploying TAs effectively - Practical strategies for enhancing access in the
classroom for a child with a visual impairment ........................................................ 5
Vision Friendly Environments.................................................................................. 5
Two courses available: Early years settings or Schools and Colleges.............. 5
Young children with vision impairment - Training for health visitors and other health
professionals ........................................................................................................... 6
Cerebral Palsy and VI ............................................................................................. 6
Down Syndrome and VI .......................................................................................... 6
Cerebral visual impairment in CYP with additional and multiple disabilities ............ 7
Introduction to Braille .............................................................................................. 7
Literacy through Braille and effective Braille teaching – This course is for QTVI or
those in training....................................................................................................... 7
Technology for children and young people with vision impairment ......................... 8
Specialist Vision Assessments ................................................................................ 8
Undertaking effective Functional Vision Assessment (inc. MDVI) – This course is
for QTVI or those in training) ................................................................................... 8
Mobility training ....................................................................................................... 9
PE for pupils with vision impairment ....................................................................... 9
Sensory Environments ............................................................................................ 9
General courses on sensory impairment ............................................................. 10
Sensory Support Service ...................................................................................... 10
Early development and communication ................................................................ 10
Early Brain Development ...................................................................................... 10
Alternative means of communication - Sign Systems ........................................... 11
Specialist Courses on Hearing Impairment
Deaf Awareness Training
‘1 in 7 people in the UK are deaf or have a hearing loss’ Action on Hearing Loss
A Deaf Awareness training course will improve your communication skills and
confidence to help you break down the barriers faced by people who are deaf or hard
of hearing. We will explore what to do if you are approached by a deaf or hard of
hearing person. We will discuss a variety of communication methods including the
written word, lip-reading or basic sign language.
Aims:
To identify and implement solutions for situations where people who deaf or hard
of hearing may face accessibility or communication barriers
To recognise and respond to the different ways people who are deaf or hard of
hearing may communicate by using different methods of communication tools
To understand and demonstrate how to engage and communicate with people
who are deaf or hard of hearing
To experience using different communication supports
Impact of hearing loss
To develop an understanding of the impact of a mild/moderate/severe/profound
hearing loss. This will be an opportunity to experience first hand what it is like to
listen with a hearing loss. You will learn about the different types of deafness,
management, technology and strategies to minimize the effect of a hearing loss in
your setting.
Aims:
To develop an understanding of the different types of hearing loss
To develop an understanding of the range of hearing losses
To develop an understanding of the implications for learning
To provide information about relevant technology
To discuss management and strategies to support children and young people in
your setting.
Glue Ear
Glue Ear affects up to 25% of children under 7 years and can cause a significant
delay in speech and language development including the acquisition of phonics,
social skills and behaviour. Find out first hand what it is like to listen with glue ear.
Learn about the causes, symptoms and treatment of glue ear and how to support the
children in your setting.
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Aims:
To develop an understanding of the causes of Glue Ear
To develop an understanding of the impact of Glue Ear on learning
To provide information about relevant management of Glue Ear (e.g ‘watchful
waiting’, grommets, hearing aids).
To discuss management and strategies to support children and/or young people
in your setting.
Cochlear Implants
More than 30,000 individuals worldwide have received cochlear implants. From
surgery, through initial activation to rehabilitation, an opportunity to develop an
understanding of the technology, day-to-day management and strategies for effective
use in your setting.
Aims:
To develop an understanding of profound sensori-neural hearing loss
To develop an understanding of the assessment, surgical and rehabilitation
process and how a cochlear implant functions
To provide information about day-to-day management of the equipment including
health and safety guidelines.
To discuss management and strategies to support children and young people in
your setting.
Effective Teaching Assistant Support for children with a hearing
loss
‘Members of the wider work force who were well trained and deployed appropriately
made a considerable difference to pupils’ learning when they provided intervention
for specific groups or individuals’ Workforce Reform in Schools: has it made a
difference? Ofsted 2010
Teaching assistants who are new to supporting children and young people with
hearing loss will have opportunities to develop an understanding of how a hearing
loss impacts on development and learning. There will be an introduction to a range
of practical strategies. We will look at positive ways of supporting children and young
people with a hearing loss in your setting.
Aims:
To ensure an understanding of levels and types of deafness
To develop an understanding of the implications for learning
To develop skills to manage hearing technology and equipment in settings
To discuss management and strategies to support children and young people in
your setting.
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Deaf Friendly Environments
Two courses available:
Early years settings or Schools and Colleges
A deaf friendly environment is one that ensures easy and safe accessibility for all
people with hearing loss. This is an opportunity to identify the factors that constitute a
deaf friendly environment, thus ensuring inclusive practice.
Aims:
To understand the principles of a Deaf Friendly Environment.
To identify site based barriers and solutions that creates a deaf friendly
environment.
To identify classroom based barriers and solutions that creates a deaf friendly
environment.
Young children with hearing loss - Training for health visitors and
other health professionals
You will develop an understanding of the impact of a mild/moderate/severe/profound
hearing loss. This will be an opportunity to experience first hand what it is like to
listen with a hearing loss. You will learn about the different types of deafness,
management, technology and the support available from the Hearing Support Team.
Aims:
To develop an understanding of the different types of hearing loss
To develop an understanding of the degree of hearing losses
To develop an understanding of the implications for early child development
To provide information about hearing aids and cochlear implants
To discuss the role of the Teacher of the Deaf
Maximising the acoustic environment levels 1 and 2
‘A good listening environment benefits all children. Deaf children in particular will
experience difficulty in learning if there is a lot of reverberation and echo in the
room… and there is a lot of background noise which drowns out the voice of the
teacher.’ Supporting the Achievement of Deaf Children in Primary Schools NDCS
2012.
There will be an opportunity to experience first hand what it is like to listen with a
hearing loss in noise. You will learn about ways to improve the acoustics in your
setting.
Aims Level 1:
To develop an awareness of the impact of acoustic environment on learning
To develop an understanding of the implications of Building Bulletin 93 in relation
to the acoustic environment.
To explore a range of simple strategies to improve the listening environment
To understand the role of the Teacher of the Deaf in promoting good acoustics.
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Aims Level 2:
To develop understanding of FM systems, soundfields and acoustic treatments
To understand the role of the Teacher of the Deaf in promoting good acoustics.
Maximising the acoustic environment - Level 1 basic, Level 2
(i) FM systems, (ii) soundfields including (iii) simple practical tips and (iv) acoustic
treatments
Aims:
To raise awareness of impact of acoustic environment on learning
To explore a range of solutions to improve the listening environment (e.g.
practical demonstration of speech intelligibility and reverberation.
To develop understanding of FM systems, time, soundfields and acoustic
treatments
Specialist Courses on Vision Impairment
Vision Awareness Training
This course will provide everyone with an opportunity to develop vision awareness, to
improve their understanding of vision impairment and to meet the needs of people
who are blind or visually impaired in education, employment and community based
organisations.
Aims:
To develop an understanding of how vision impairment impacts on people’s daily
lives.
To identify the challenges faced by people who are blind and visually impaired
and develop solutions to address these.
To experience practical workshops.
Adapting and modifying resources for CYP with VI in mainstream
and special school settings
Children and young people with vision impairment require adaptations and
modifications to ensure they can maximise their access in all environments. This
course will provide participants with the knowledge and understanding of how to
adapt, modify and differentiate learning materials.
Aims:
To understand how a V.I/C.V.I impacts on a CYPS access to learning.
To identify the underlying principles of adaptation and modification in an
educational setting.
To experience practical workshops and gain the skills to apply these principles in
all schools.
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Social Emotional Development
There is a dynamic relationship between social emotional development and cognitive
achievement. The presence of VI has an impact on all areas of development. A good
understanding of the impact of VI on social and emotional development is crucial to
ensure CYP access early intervention in this area to prevent potential issues and to
promote well-being and academic achievement.
Aims:
To understand social and emotional development and the impact of VI.
To develop an understanding of early intervention strategies to promote social
and emotional development.
To understand the impact of social and emotional development on emotional wellbeing, self-esteem and independent living in adult life.
Deploying TAs effectively - Practical strategies for enhancing
access in the classroom for a child with a visual impairment
This course will enable schools and settings to identify how best to deploy and
manage T.As to ensure the best support for the CYP.
Aims:
To have a greater understanding of how to overcome potential barriers to learning
that a visually impaired child may encounter through effective team work
To have a greater understanding of the roles of each member of the team around
the visually impaired so that support for the child can be effective and teaching
and learning enhanced
Vision Friendly Environments
Two courses available:
Early years settings or Schools and Colleges
A vision friendly environment is one that ensures easy and safe accessibility for all
people with VI. This is an opportunity to identify the factors that constitute a vision
friendly environment, thus ensuring inclusive practice.
Aims:
To understand the principles of a Vision Friendly Environment.
To identify site based barriers and solutions that creates a vision friendly
environment.
To identify classroom based barriers and solutions that creates a vision friendly
environment.
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Young children with vision impairment - Training for health visitors
and other health professionals
You will develop an understanding of the impact of vision impairment. You will learn
about how different eye conditions impact on early child development, what
strategies to use when interacting with children with vision impairment and the
support available from the Vision Support Team.
Aims:
To develop an understanding of the different eye conditions and their impact
To develop an understanding of the implications for early child development
To discuss the role of the Teacher for the vision impaired
Cerebral Palsy and VI
Many children and young people with cerebral palsy will have vision impairment. It is
often difficult to tell if a child has problems seeing because of other difficulties with
communication, movement or learning disabilities. This is an opportunity to develop
a knowledge and understanding of the visual impairments associated with CP.
Aims:
To develop an understanding of the common vision impairments in CYP with
Cerebral Palsy and VI.
To raise awareness of the impact on CYP with Cerebral Palsy and VI
To discuss management and strategies to promote learning and independence in
the classroom for CYP with Cerebral Palsy and VI.
Down Syndrome and VI
Children and young people with Down’s syndrome have a higher incidence of
refractive errors and other ophthalmological problems than children without
disabilities. This is an opportunity to develop an understanding of those vision
impairments and to learn how to support young people to maximise their residual
vision in an educational setting.
Aims:
To develop an understanding of the common vision impairments the vision
impairments in CYP with Down Syndrome and VI.
To raise awareness of the impact on learning on CYP with Down Syndrome and
VI.
To discuss management and strategies to promote learning and independence in
the classroom for CYP with Down Syndrome and VI.
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Cerebral visual impairment in CYP with additional and multiple
disabilities
There are many reasons why damage to the visual pathways may arise. CYP with
CVI can have numerous visual difficulties, for example recognising and locating
objects; moving through space and specific difficulties with processing visual
information. Learn about the causes and symptoms of CVI and how to support CYP
with CVI and additional and complex disabilities.
Aims:
To discuss the nature of CVI and the visual systems in the brain.
To discuss how CVI impacts on learning.
To discuss practical strategies to promote learning and independence in the
classroom for CYP with CVI.
Introduction to Braille
This course provides an introduction to Braille for sighted people. It explains the
history and structure of the Braille code; the difference between uncontracted and
contracted Braille and allows participants to gain a basic knowledge of reading and
writing using the Braille alphabet.
Aims:
To develop an understanding of how the Braille code is structured.
To gain a basic understanding of reading and writing in Grade 1 Braille.
To develop an understanding of how to support a Braille user in the workplace,
within education or in the home and community.
Literacy through Braille and effective Braille teaching – This course
is for QTVI or those in training
This course addresses the issue of children and young people becoming literate
through Braille. It looks at similarities and differences between becoming literate
through Braille and through print, what specialist teachers need to do to ensure
effective teaching of literacy through a tactile mean of communication, how to
develop programmes of work, assess and monitor progress of their pupils and how to
work with others.
Aims:
To understand how children become literate through Braille and what makes an
effective user of Braille
To be able to assess and monitor progress in Braille teaching
To gain strategies and share ideas of resources to motivate children and promote
inclusion
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Technology for children and young people with vision impairment
There are many products available to a person who is blind or visually impaired to
enable them to have access to services, education and employment. This course will
demonstrate the range and functions of the current technology available to blind and
visually impaired users, including those with additional and complex disabilities.
Aims:
To identify the barriers in an educational setting for blind and visually impaired
users.
To demonstrate current technology that will enable blind and visually impaired
users to have independent access, for example magnification and speech
software, braille displays and video magnifiers.
To experience practical workshops using the technology and understanding its
role in enabling equal access for the person who is blind and visually impaired.
Specialist Vision Assessments
This course describes the process of developing a multi agency assessment for
children and young people with VI at the time of early diagnosis or when there are
unanswered questions about their vision. It is particularly relevant to professionals
from different agencies seeking to develop partnership working across agencies.
Aims:
To understand how to develop an effective partnership using multi-agency
approach of specialist vision assessment approach to Visual assessment.
To share the experience of working across agencies to provide an integrated
service to families
To understand evaluation processes used to provide evidence of the impact
Undertaking effective Functional Vision Assessment (inc. MDVI) –
This course is for QTVI or those in training)
A functional vision assessment is an assessment of how a CYP’s uses their vision in
a variety of tasks and settings. An accurate framework of assessment and effective
observation is essential in identifying the individual needs of CYP.
Aims:
To introduce and discuss formal FVA tools and the use of technology in FVAs.
To establish a framework for effective use of observation to inform a CYP’s
functional vision.
Collaborative partnership working and interpreting the FVA results and their
implications for access to learning in order to build a holistic picture of CYP’s
functional vision.
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Mobility training
Movement and early exploration of the world around us is crucial for human
development. Children and young people with vision impairment often lack
stimulation and/or basic skills that help them do this effectively and in safety. These
skills are crucial to enable children and young people being full participants in their
communities. This course is tailored to the age of children and young people the
audience would be working with.
Aims:
To understand how the development of physical and mobility skills are crucial in
promoting independence and how they impact on other areas of development.
To be able to use basic mobility skills effectively
To be able to ensure children and young people are safe
PE for pupils with vision impairment
Participation in PE is crucial for pupils with vision impairment to promote their fitness,
physical well being, develop confidence and increase independence. But including a
pupil with vision impairment in PE can be challenging if staff are not aware of
Aims:
To develop awareness and understanding of main issues when including pupils
with a visual impairment in PE lessons.
To increase confidence and ability of including pupils with a visual impairment in
PE.
To increase knowledge about adapting practical activities
To develop understanding of skills which pupils with a visual impairment need to
learn.
Sensory Environments
Sensory environments are based in nurseries, children’s centres, schools and in
community buildings. They can be used to maximise the use of a CYPs use of their
residual vision; to help develop their communication skills and to build relationships.
Aims:
To understand the functions and the different types of sensory environments.
To identify practical activities to undertake in a sensory environment for the
enhancement and development of visual skills.
To establish effective and safe practice within the sensory room.
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General courses on sensory impairment
Sensory Support Service
This is a short course that explains the role of the Sensory Support Service and can
be used as part of other training as appropriate (for example as part of presentations
about services available). The service has specialist teachers who have the
knowledge and experience in working with children and young people with sensory
impairment. Our teachers hold mandatory qualifications in the field and all staff are
up to date with new developments and technologies. We aim to promote the
achievement, inclusion, well-being and quality of life of children and young people
with a sensory impairment.
Aim:
To gain basic understanding of sensory impairment and implications for low
incidence disabilities
To raise awareness of the role and work undertaken by the Sensory Support
Service across all professionals.
To gain knowledge of impact of service provision on outcomes for children and
young people
Early development and communication
This course will provide an overview of the development of early communication for
pupils with a sensory impairment. It will consider the stages of communication
beginning with pupils at the earliest pre-intentional stage, those who develop
intentionality which leads to the use of formal modes of communication.
Aims:
To consider what we mean by communication? It’s purpose – definition.
To understand pre-intentional and intentional communication
To consider strategies to support the development of communication
To understand the importance of the adult’s role in supporting a pupil’s
communication
Early Brain Development
As research into neuroscience advances, our understanding of the brain and its
development continues to change. Learn more about the processes by which the
infant brain develops and how to use this knowledge to work more effectively with
young children.
Aims:
To develop an understanding of typical prenatal brain development
To develop knowledge about the structures and functions of the brain
To appreciate the processes by which infants learn
To facilitate an understanding about critical periods of learning
To develop effective strategies to maximise children’s learning potential
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Alternative means of communication - Sign Systems
This course gives an introduction of alternative means of communication many of
which are used with children and young people with sensory impairments but not
exclusively. The course can be tailored to the needs of the audience and can include
Sign Supported English, Cannan Barrie, British Sign Language, Makaton, Lip
reading, etc.
Aims:
To raise awareness of different alternative means of communications, their
advantages and disadvantages
To have a basic understanding of sign systems used as alternative or enhanced
means of communication
To develop understanding of how to promote the development of communication
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