RNIB joins call to #UnlockEducation for children with vision impairment
RNIB - and its education partners, including Thomas Pocklington Trust, are calling on political leaders and decision makers to ensure children and young people with vision impairment have equal access to education.
Many children and young people with a vision impairment (VI) do not have access to the specialist support they need. Governments in England, Wales, Scotland and NI should ensure all educational settings support children and young people with vision impairment and their families. RNIB and its education partners have developed the tools for this and government support is now needed to make it work.
“I didn’t receive any specialist educational support when I first lost my sight. I was in a bad place.” Mo, student with a visual impairment.
“Inequities in education provision and support available for children and young people with a vision impairment cannot continue,” said Caireen Sutherland, Head of Education at RNIB.
To address the inequities in specialist VI support, RNIB joined parents, children and young people, practitioners, charities, and experts at the University of Birmingham to develop and launch the Curriculum Framework for Children and Young People with Vision Impairment (CFVI).
The CFVI supports children and young people with VI to access the national curriculum and develop the broad range of skills needed to learn alongside their peers and live independently in adulthood.
“We want to see the CFVI followed by all educational settings supporting children and young people with VI and their families, in partnership with VI specialists,” explained Dr Rachel Hewett, Co-Director of the Vision Impairment Centre for Teaching and Research at the University of Birmingham.
RNIB with Thomas Pocklington Trust, the Vision Impairment Centre for Teaching and Research at the University of Birmingham, the professional association for the Vision Impairment Education Workforce and Sight Scotland have released reports jointly to call on governments in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to #UnlockEducation by endorsing the CFVI.
“We believe governments in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland embedding the framework into education policy will mean that students with VI have the chance to be put on an even playing field as their peers.” added Tara Chattaway, Head of Education at Thomas Pocklington Trust.
To learn more and read the reports, click here.