RNIB works to ensure that policy takes into account the requirements of blind and partially sighted children and young people and their families. One way that we do this is by responding to national consultations. In some areas, we work with key stakeholders to produce sector wide responses.
You can find the links to some of the main consortia that we work with on the Education professionals page.
Below are some of the recent consultation responses submitted by RNIB Group:
Curriculum and qualifications
National Curriculum consultation (February 2013)
The Government has issued proposals arising from its review of the National Curriculum with the aim of ensuring that 'the aspirations we set for our children match those in the highest-performing education jurisdictions, and giving teachers greater freedom over how to teach'. The key elements are:
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changes to the programmes of study and attainment targets for all subjects and key stages
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proposed aims for the new National Curriculum
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a proposal to replace the ICT programme of study with a new 'computing' programme of study
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the equalities impact of the reforms
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issues relating to the implementation of the new National Curriculum
Further details are on the Department for Education website. RNIB will be responding to the consultation. If you have any comments regarding this, please email cypf@rnib.org.uk by 28 March.
Read our response to the original review of the National Curriculum:
Reform of Key Stage 4 qualifications (February 2013)
Following on from the government consultation on Key Stage 4 qualification reform in 2012, the government has decided not to replace GCSEs with a new qualification and has also abandoned the idea of a 'statement of achievement' for students who do not get a recognised exam pass. Plans to make a single exam board responsible for each main subject will not go ahead either. RNIB welcomes these decisions as positive outcomes for visually impaired learners.
The government remains determined to make major reforms to GCSE, with a particular emphasis on increasing the level of academic demand needed to obtain a pass. This will be achieved through 'a balance of more challenging subject content and more rigorous assessment structures.' RNIB is concerned at the implications for blind and partially sighted learners although the government insists that the changes will take full account of equalities issues. We will continue to monitor the proposed changes as they are announced.
Read our response to the original consultation:
Ofqual Consultation on reforms to GCSE exams (November 2011)
RNIB responded to this Ofqual consultation on reforms to GCSE exams, namely that the specifications should be made linear rather than modular, and greater account will be taken of spelling, punctuation and grammar in some subjects. You can read the consultation proposals on the Ofqual website.
Consultation response to year 1 Phonics Screening Check (February 2011)
This is RNIB's response to the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check consultation in Spring 2011. The response relates mainly on the needs of children who read and write in braille and their access to the screening check.
SEN and Disability Provision
House of Commons Education Committee Pre-legislative Scrutiny of the Children and Families Bill (October 2012)
The Department for Education published draft legislation in September 2012 on reform of provision for children and young people with Special Educational Needs (SEN) and disabilities. RNIB issued a press statement welcoming the commitment of the Government to prioritize the reforms.
RNIB Group has since submitted a response to the Education Select Committee's call for evidence which closed on 11 October. You can find our further information and download the RNIB Group briefing on the draft clauses of the Children and Families Bill from our campaigns pages.
The Education Select Committee have subsequently released a report on the Children and Families Bill which has been welcomed by RNIB. Read more on our Government policy in education pages.
Support and aspiration: Progress and next steps (May 2012)
The Government published its response to the SEN and Disability Green Paper on 15 May. The document sets out the progress made and the next steps in taking forward the Green Paper reforms.
It follows the announcement in the Queen's speech that the government intends to bring forward legislation so that from 2014:
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Parents will know what they can reasonably expect from their school, college, authority and services to provide through a clear, easy to understand local offer of support;
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Children and young people with statements or learning difficulty assessments in the current system will have a quicker, better integrated assessment and a single Education, Health and Care Plan setting out all the services they will receive for their support;
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Statutory protections comparable to those currently associated with a statement of SEN will be provided for 16-25 year olds in further education so that young people will get the support they need wherever they are taught; and
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Parents will have greater control over the services they and their family use. Those whose children have an Education, Health and Care Plan will be able to express a preference for any state funded school and have the right to a personal budget for their support
The Next Steps document has been published to the SEN and disability green paper page of the Department for Education (DfE) website. You can also view the consultation summary within this website.
RNIB Initial Analysis
In a press release issued on 15 May Julie Jennings, RNIB's Children, Young People and Families Manager, said:
"We welcome the recognition that special educational needs (SEN) provision is an area in need of significant reform and the potential this reform has in giving families greater control over the support they receive. However we still have a number of concerns about the proposals, particularly how the eligibility criteria and thresholds governing entitlement to Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans will be designed, and believe it is essential that the new system is developed in partnership with voluntary and community organisations and families. EHC plans will be an important gateway to SEN provision so blind and partially sighted children should clearly get this help".
"We would also urge the Government to consider a robust "national offer" for children and young people with highly specialist needs to enable every local authority to develop and publish their own local offer of support.There are an estimated 22,000 blind and partially sighted children and young people aged 0-16 years in England. Research shows that pupils with sight loss are more likely than those with no SEN to experience disadvantages so it is essential that these needs are picked up early and support put into place as soon as possible".
Download RNIB's full initial analysis of the 'Support and aspiration: Progress and next steps' document:
Notes to Editors:
Services which children and young people with sight loss typically require include the following:
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Regular input from a qualified teacher of pupils with VI (Qualified Teacher of Visually Impaired), both for direct teaching of specialist skills such as learning to read and write through braille and for advisory work
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Provision of equipment
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Adult support (including use of a trained Teaching Assistant)
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Ongoing adaptation of resources
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Consistent funding for low vision assessments and prescription of aids mobility training and independence skills, including daily living activities support for social and emotional development
SEN Green Paper on SEN and Disability (June 2011)
RNIB submitted two responses to the SEND Green Paper consultation which closed on 30 June.
The first response was submitted on behalf of the UK Vision Strategy Joint Initiatives for Children and Young People Group. It was written in consultation with parents and voluntary organisations, professional associations and statutory services involved in the education of children and young people (CYP) with a vision impairment (VI) from birth to 25 years.
Following a series of national events for parents and professionals, RNIB co-ordinated the response with:
RNIB has also submitted a second response with Action for Blind People. Both responses are available to view below:
We will update you when a response from Government to the consultation is received.
DfE Green Paper pathfinders applications launched
Following the publication of the Green Paper 'Support and aspiration: A new approach to special educational needs and disability', the Department for Education and Department of Health are now seeking bids from prospective Green Paper pathfinders.
Find out more on the Department for Education website.
Other relevant consultations
Public Sector Equality Duty Review (April 2013)
The Government is reviewing the effectiveness of the Public Sector Equality Duty (referred to here as 'the Equality Duty'). This includes both the general and specific duties in order 'to establish whether the Equality Duty is operating as intended'.
RNIB plans to respond to the Review but to meaningfully assist the Government we need to provide good practice case studies illustrating where the Equality Duty has worked well within a specific authority. When public bodies apply the Equality Duty effectively, RNIB believes it helps them to get their services and policies right for our modern, diverse society including blind and partially sighted people.
The Equality Duty works as a tool that helps public bodies to deliver their services fairly and more accurately. It means that they:
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consider the equality implications of all their decisions,
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work to eliminate institutional discrimination at every level,
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advance equality of opportunity in practice, and
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foster good relations between different groups of people.
The Equality Duty is neither a luxury nor red tape. However, to make that case as strongly as possible to Ministers we need you to please share examples which show how the Equality Duty has enabled a public body to operate more efficiently and effectively. Examples may be small or large so long as they show how the Equality Duty has led or contributed to beneficial change such as a better targeted or more cost-effective service.
Please send your examples to us by Monday 18th March 2013 at campaign@rnib.org.uk
Please do all you can to raise awareness of this important review and if you would like to go further still, encourage sympathetic public bodies or public officials to voice their support for the Equality Duty. The Government's review is coming to an end in June 2013 so Government needs to receive our case studies and response soon. Below is an example case study for information:
Equality Duty Case Study: Leicester City Council (Labour): Access Awareness Events and Inclusive Design panel
Background:
Between 2006 and 2008 a number of changes were made to the city centre and it was found that a number of these changes had an adverse effect on people with disabilities - for example, there were increased walking distances to shops and a loss of blue badge parking spaces. In order to meet their obligations under the disability equality duty and respond to these shortcomings Leicester City Council started to work in partnership with Vista, a voluntary sector organisation supporting blind and partially sighted people, and the Centre for Integrated Living. The objective was to develop a programme of work to ensure that the voice of blind and partially sighted people is heard in the planning and development stages of any built environment and public realm scheme.
Action taken:
The Council facilitated the Disabled Persons Access Group to ensure that disability groups and disabled people got involved in activities, such as consultation exercises, as well as running the Inclusive Design Advisory Panel (IDAP) which advised the council planners on the implications of their plans on disabled people.
Outcome:
All planning and design projects now come through the IDAP which is chaired by a councillor who has a keen interest in inclusive design. Before the panel's existence disabled people's access and built environment issues often got picked up too late, when projects were complete. Problems were then costly to rectify, and the resultant negative feedback impacted poorly on the council. The IDAP enables disabled people to take a more pro-active role at the planning stage, to help prevent issues from arising later on down the line. Inclusive design is about good decision making (at all levels), in order to "get it right first time". Having good policies and procedures is really important, but decision makers need to have some understanding of a) what an inaccessible environment feels like to a disabled person, and b) how this can be improved.
Consultation on NHS and Public Health Outcomes Frameworks (May 2012)
Established in January 2012, the Children's and Young People's Health Outcomes Forum seeks to ensure that the new health structures are responsive to the needs of children and young people and that the NHS and Public Health Outcomes Frameworks include indicators that are most relevant to children and young people. It is jointly chaired by Professor Ian Lewis, Alder Hey Children's Trust, and Christine Lenehan, Director at the Council for Disabled Children.
RNIB has submitted joint responses to the consultation with four key consortia:
RNIB promoted the full implementation of protocols for screening of vision in childhood and raised concerns about the need for vision screening for children with multiple needs. Key messages from the four responses recognized the impact of good health on good educational outcomes. Another key message was the need for appropriate co-ordinated care services, including access to keyworking support.
The Forum is due to report back to Department of Health with their recommendations in June 2012.
Download the RNIB and NatSIP response to this consultation: