What is inclusion?
Inclusion involves developing the attitudes, skills and resources of schools to enable the widest range.
What does inclusion mean?
Inclusion means that local authorities are required to consider the way the curriculum, teaching, funding and the school premises themselves meet the needs of all children. Your child's school must also involve all parents and carers, staff and governors in school life.
The formal mechanisms for including children with sight problems in mainstream schools are much better developed than those for most other disability groups.
Qualified teachers
Every local authority has a visual impairment support service (often grouped with services for deaf children and referred to as sensory support services) which will include at least one qualified teacher of the visually impaired (QTVI). These teachers have undertaken specialist post-graduate training in working with pupils who are blind and partially sighted.
One to one support
Inclusion means that your child may receive some support from a qualified teacher of the visually impaired (QTVI). They work closely with parents, schools and access and mobility officers.
QTVIs can be vital in ensuring that your child's needs are met when they receive special provision managed by your child's mainstream school. At all stages of this process, the QTVI should make a substantial contribution to determining the special provision given to your child, even where this is at the most basic level.
Access technology
Where appropriate, the school will provide low vision devices, computer text enhancement and speech synthesising programmes for your child.
Teaching Assistants
Many blind and partially sighted pupils receive support from a teaching assistant throughout their time in school. The nature of this support will vary, but it should be geared towards the child becoming more independent over time, especially at secondary school.
Further information
Your child's school should be aware of the support services for children and young people with visual impairment. They should also be familiar with the ways the visual impairment support service and the orientation and mobility officer can support the placement of your child at their school.
If the school is not aware of the services and standards available, draw their attention to the quality standards on Teachernet.