The Vision Support Team understands the challenges a change in setting can bring to a pupil with vision impairment. The team work with children and young people, families and settings through each phase of their education to facilitate a smooth, positive transition. Vision Support Team provide a range of specialist support including:
- Supporting families to make informed choices about appropriate educational provision for their child. Information to collect during a school visit.
- Providing a range of information to professionals in the new educational setting, so that they are fully informed about the pupil’s individual needs and views.
- Leading and attending transition meetings with the pupil, family, current staff and staff from the new setting, as well as their new Qualified Teacher of Vision Impairment (QTVI) where applicable, to ensure continuity and a successful individualised transition for the pupil.
- Collecting pupil and parent views via questionnaires after transition to new settings. Evaluating and using this information to inform future transition events as well as to evaluate the support which we offer.
Preparing for Post-16 and Post-18 Opportunities
Post-16
To have a successful move onwards from school takes careful planning, especially when you have your vision access to think about.
From Year 9 it is very important that you start thinking about what future career you might want to do or at least be looking at courses in areas that interest you. Talk to your school careers advisor and explore options at career fairs or college open days.
Find college and open day information here: Open Days – Birmingham Careers Service
Be ambitious and realistic – talk to your Qualified Teacher of Vision Impaired about how jobs can be made accessible. Occasionally a minimum level of corrected vision is required for some jobs for safety reasons, but don’t let that deter you from exploring a particular industry as advances in technology means that there are now many more jobs now available to people with a vision impairment.
Make sure that your school follow their obligation to provide you with meaningful experiences of the workplace – voice your areas of interest when this is being planned and ask your Qualified Teacher of Vision Impaired for support if advice on reasonable adjustments is needed.
It is very important that you can explain to people what your vision impairment means, how you manage your vision access, and what equipment and adjustments you will need. Being able to explain this in positive terms and detailing the extra IT, practical and organisational skills you have gained because of having to manage your vision access will support settings realise your capabilities and potential.
At school, there can be a high level of support for students with vision impairment, but this is reduced when you move to college or work. This is because the expectation is that you will be better able to negotiate the support you need yourself and manage your own equipment. However, it is important to speak to staff at future placements to confirm in advance the details of equipment and the reasonable adjustments needed.
Fill in this form to share with prospective placements to help explain your access needs: Student Adjustments Planner – GOV.UK. Please ask your Qualified Teacher of Vision Impaired if you need support with this.
Making sure that you know how to get to college safely and can navigate around the premises is important for settling in well to a new setting. If you are given an unconditional offer for the start of Year 12 before the summer break, let us know and we can ask the Habilitation Team to arrange mobility training during quiet times, in addition to the usual transition events that you will be offered by the setting.
We know that some placements aren’t confirmed until after you get your Year 11 results – in these cases, let us know as soon as your place is confirmed and we can help to arrange support, if needed.
If you need any further advice on transitioning on from school, please ask your Qualified Teacher of Vision Impaired.
Post-18
University
If you plan to go to university, make sure you visit any potential settings and speak to the tutors of the course you plan to apply for, as well as the disability support team there, so you can really get a feel for the place and what they have to offer you.
You can apply for the Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) and you should do this as soon as you apply for a place, so equipment and adjustments are sorted as early as possible and are in place when you commence your course.
The Thomas Pocklington Trust offers a wealth of great advice to students, including on applying for DSA: Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) – Thomas Pocklington Trust
Look UK also provide valuable advice by young people with Vision Impairment specifically for students with Vision Impairment planning on a move to university:
Disability Services at Uni – LOOK – Supporting Visually Impaired Young People to Thrive
and they also provide a mentoring scheme, if you would like personal 121 support:
Peer Mentoring Projects for VI Young People – Look UK
Employment
If you are planning on moving into paid employment, you can apply for Access to Work (ATW) support, which can help pay for equipment or reasonable adjustments.
Reading up about ATW and applying as early as you can, will help you have a smooth transition into new placements. Find out about it here: Information about Access to Work for people with sight loss | RNIB
For careers support that is specific for people with vision impairment, there are some great companies out there offering help, training and advice, such as:
- Blind in Business Students – Blind in Business
- Employment and Internships – Thomas Pocklington Trust
- Employment Support – BID Services
Paid Internships for Young People with Vision Impairment
If you are interested in a paid internship just for young people with a vision impairment, three sight loss charities: RNIB, Look UK, and TPT have joined forces to provide opportunities just for you. Information on how to apply can be found here:
Get Set Progress Internships – Thomas Pocklington Trust
If you need any further advice on moving to Post 18 opportunities, please ask your Qualified Teacher of Vision Impairment (QTVI).