Changes to VI service staffing and provision

Title:

RNIB survey on changes to VI service staffing and provision for blind and partially sighted children and young people in England and Wales.

Author(s):

Sue Keil and Rory Cobb.

Publisher:

RNIB (unpublished research report).

Year of publication:

2010.

Background:

In late summer 2010 RNIB Children, Young People and Families team became aware that several local authority (LA) advisory services for children and young people with visual impairment (VI) were under threat of staff cuts and/or re-organisation that would put the educational support for blind and partially pupils at risk.

These threats to service provision were taking place in the context of a major national financial deficit and the newly elected coalition government undertaking a Comprehensive Spending Review. The results of the review, released on 20 October 2010, would have significant implications for the future of public services in the UK.

In order to ascertain whether the potential threat to VI services was isolated to a few services in a minority of LAs or was more widespread, in September 2010 RNIB undertook a questionnaire survey of VI services in England and Wales. Fifty-seven questionnaires were returned, giving a response rate of 33 per cent of LAs in England and Wales.

Key findings:

• Thirty-six per cent of the VI services that responded have lost posts or had them frozen, or have experienced a reduction in staff hours since the beginning of the year. A total of 15 QTVI posts across England and Wales have already been lost or frozen, with a further six posts considered to be at risk in the future.

• Other specialist staff posts have been, or are likely to be affected include mobility officers, TAs and resource technicians.

• While VI services have done their best to maintain a high standard of support for children, the cuts are already having an effect on provision for some groups of children. Twenty-one per cent said that service provision to children whose sight difficulty was below a certain threshold had had their support withdrawn or reduced since the beginning of the year. Eleven per cent had reduced their support to pupils without statements and 12 per cent had been unable to provide their previous level of support to children with complex needs.

• There were also concerns about future re-organisation and funding of VI services, with some apparently moving to a 'traded services' model.

• It is unclear why some VI services are being affected more than others. However, it is clear that where services have managed to avoid drastic cuts to their provision, it has been necessary for them to put forward a strong case to their LA with supporting evidence.

Downloads:

• RNIB survey on changes to VI service staffing and provision (Word, 247 KB)