As your child moves up to secondary school, they may need to adapt the way they learn. Planning for this usually starts in September of Year 6. It involves you working with the QTVI (Qualified Teacher of Visually Impaired children).
At secondary school, your child will move around the school building more as pupils go from class to class for subject lessons. They'll also learn a wider range of subjects at a more in-depth level.
Statement of Special Education Needs
If your child has a statement of Special Educational Needs (SEN), this will need to be reviewed at the end of Year 5 or early in Year 6 before starting their new school, to take into account the different methods of learning at secondary level.
Teaching Assistants
If your child was supported by a teaching assistant (TA) at primary school, it is likely that they will continue to have TA support at secondary school, but it will probably not be the same person. The level of support provided by one or more TAs may also change - what a child needs in terms of adult support at primary may be very different to their needs in a secondary school.
What Teaching Assistants do
At secondary school, the TA will work closely with the subject teachers, inclusion manager (sometimes called the SENCO or Special Educational Need Coordinator) and QTVI to ensure your child is able to access each aspect of the curriculum.
Sometimes the TA will need to work with your child directly to ensure they understand the lessons, but at other times the TA will need to spend his or her time adapting materials for future lessons.
Increasing independence
At secondary school, the TA will work towards increasing your child's independence in lessons as he or she progresses up the school. Some lessons, for instance, maths or geography, where much of the material is visual, may need in-class support. In other lessons, your child should be able to work independently.
Using ICT
At secondary school, your child may need to focus more on learning ICT (Information and Communication Technology) skills than before.
Your child may have learnt some ICT methods to access the curriculum at primary level (for example, CCTV, keyboarding skills, using a braille note). Focusing more on these may help your child's independence at secondary level.
Getting an ICT assessment
Schools need to ensure that each pupil has the correct equipment for their needs. This may involve an ICT assessment through the local VI (Visual Impairment) service. It may even take place before they begin at their new school.
The emphasis should be on enabling your child to access the curriculum and increasing their independence in doing so.