CFVI for educators (non-VI specialists)
A woman with long hair sits with a teenage girl in a school uniform and glasses, sat at a blue desk.
This series of short guides is aimed at those working in education who are non-specialists in the field of vision impairment (VI). There are guides for teachers, for support staff working with students with VI and for those in schools responsible for monitoring provision and planning around statutory and non-statutory documentation that reflect the needs of children and young people with VI.
The guides are designed to support understanding of the vital impact of joint working between specialists and non-specialists in the education of children and young people with vision impairment. These are nation specific Accessible PDFs for printing or sharing as electronic files.
Teachers who are non-specialists in VI Education
Staff in charge of monitoring provision and co-ordinating support
Support staff working with children with VI
An introduction to the CFVI for non-specialist professionals supporting children and young people with vision impairment
This short video has been developed to introduce education professionals working with a children or young people with vision impairment to the Curriculum Framework for Children and Young People with Vision Impairment (CFVI). The CFVI sets out and explains the support that children and young people with vision impairment aged 0–25 need so that they get fair and equal access to education. The CFVI was developed with parents and carers, young people and education professionals, and is now used widely across the United Kingdom.
The video was created by UCAN Productions, a performance and creative arts charity for blind and partially sighted children, young people, adults and their friends. We spoke with teachers who have supported children and young people with vision impairment to ask them what they thought should be included in the video. Central, however, to the video are the voices of the young people who draw upon their lived experience to explain why the implementation of the CFVI is so important for the educational and social inclusion of children and young people with vision impairment and how you can have a role in supporting this.
Research evidence highlights how important it is for non-specialist and specialist professionals and parents to collaborate when supporting a children or young person with vision impairment. The CFVI aims to facilitate this through a person-centred approach. To support educators in knowing how to use the CFVI, RNIB have developed a series of resources for education professionals. There are three guides - for teachers, for support staff working with students in a one-to-one capacity and for those in schools responsible for monitoring provision and planning around statutory and non-statutory documentation that reflect the needs of children and young people with vision impairment. The resources are tailored to different roles across the UK and are designed to support understanding of the vital role specialists and non-specialists working together have in the education of children and young people with vision impairment.
Watch our introduction to the CFVI for professionals video
There are two other videos available developed by children and young people introducing different audiences to the CFVI - one for parents and one for children and young people. This video for professionals can also be accessed from Specialist resources and sensory support service documents and from CFVI Resource Hub Area 1.
