The West Midlands group meets at varied locations around the region.
Forthcoming meeting
The VITAL West Midlands group is invited to join the MSI (Multi-Sensory Impairment) Network meeting on Friday 7th June 2013 in Leicester, 10am - 3pm.
Penny Lacey (University of Birmingham) will present a day focusing on the Curriculum for children and young people with PMLD (Profound and Mulitple Learning Difficulties.)
At the last VITAL West Midlands meeting Penny Lacey presented a short session on this topic and there was a strong call for a more in-depth opportunity to explore this material. This interest is shared by the MSI Network who are also keen to develop knowledge of curriculum models, and as such we are able to offer a joint meeting.
We are delighted to join with the MSI network for this event. There is no charge to attend.
You can download the programme and booking form (Word, 23.7KB) here.
Please note that all booking and administration of this event is via the MSI Network, not RNIB. For any further details please contact sandra.cartwright@leicester.gov.uk or telephone 0116 225 4800.
Previous meetings
18th June 2012
The meeting took place at RNIB Pears Centre for Specialist Learning in Coventry.
There was a presentation on Tassels - a new approach to on-body signing, a session on physiotherapy for children with complex needs and finally Penny Lacey (Senior Lecturer, University of Birmingham) will presented recent work on developing the curriculum for children with PMLD (profound and multiple learning difficulties.)
21 November 2011
The group met at Calthorpe School in Birmingham and heard Mary Withers, Specialist VI-co-ordinator present her Masters research into working with children with Cortical Visual Impairment. Stevie Johnson presented a session on the Orthoptist's perspective on CVI, and the day was concluded with a digest of the various approaches and resources available to support children with this type of visual processing problem.
9 June 2011
The group last gathered on the 9 June at the National Blind Children's Society (NBCS) in Birmingham. This was a very informative meeting with presentations from NBCS on their children's services and how they work with children with a visual impairment and their families, especially in terms of advocacy. This was followed by a session presented by Judy Bell, an independent consultant, on visual impairment (VI) and autism, assessment and intervention and the new VI and autism resource pack. The afternoon session included an interactive session on the communicative enviroment presented by Ian Bell, Lead Speech and Language Therapist at RNIB Pears Centre for Specialist Learning (formerly RNIB Rushton School and Children's home). There were opportunities for networking and sharing of resources around information and communication technologies (ICT) and communication.
21 October 2010
The group met on the 21 October at Priestly Smith School in Birmingham. The day consisted of a workshop focusing on making IT resources using Powerpoint and SwitchIt! Maker. The group were guided through making their own stories, visual stimulation and assessment materials, and learning activities. In the afternoon members shared ideas and resources around using ICT for visual stimulation activities.
30 March 2010
The group met on 30 March 2010 at the Flash Ley Centre in Stafford. The focus of this meeting was age-appropriate resources. There were presentations from Catherine Southwell (QTVI) on age appropriate literacy, and Alison Collins, from Condover College, on the challenges of providing age appropriate resources in post 16 provision. And Stuart Turnbull shared some home-made materials he had been using with young people in maths and geography lessons.
1 July 2009
The group previously met on 1 July 2009 at Mary Elliot School in Walsall. The meeting included a tour of the school, folowed by sessions on intensive interaction and functional vision testing, where participants demonstrated the equipment and techniques they use.
The presentations shared on the day are available on request from vital@rnib.org.uk
Contact information
For more information or to join this group, please contact
vital@rnib.org.uk or telephone 0113 386 2815.