In 2007 RNIB commissioned the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) to carry out an online survey of local authority Visual Impairment (VI) services in England, Scotland and Wales.  The aim was to ascertain the numbers and characteristics of children and young people with visual impairments; identify and map the type of educational and other provision made for these children and young people; and explore how and to what extent such provision was supported.

There are three Word documents Final country report - UK, Final briefing, Final GB report.

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Dear Colleague

You may be aware that one of the work strands for the South East Sensory Impairment Partnership during 2008 – 2009 is on revision of the existing SERSEN Eligibility Criteria for access to SI (HI, VI, MSI) services.

These criteria, available on the SERSEN website www.sersen.uk.net, were drawn up in 2005 following national consultation and have been widely used. However, much has changed in our work since then and we have been asked to revise the criteria to reflect current services to children and young people with sensory impairment.

If you have used or are familiar with the criteria and would like to be involved in the revision, we would like to ask you to respond to some questions in a telephone interview with a member of the working group. This will take about 30 - 40 minutes of your time during September; an outline of the question coverage is provided at the end of this email. The revised criteria will be published in March 2009. Current eligibility materials can be found in the library.

If you are not familiar with the SERSEN Eligibility Criteria but would welcome the opportunity to be involved at the stage of consultation over the draft revised version during December 2008 – January 2009, please do let me know.

If, in your service, you have been using other Eligibility Criteria and you are prepared to share these with us please let me know that too. We would like to look at all examples of good practice that are available.

Please contact me, on behalf of the SE SI Partnership, at lindsey.rousseau@btinternet.com

The telephone interview:

We will wish to use any comments you make during the interview to inform the revision of the eligibility criteria. We will need to ask your permission to use what you say, anonymously, in our revision work. Asking for your consent to this will be part of the interview.

The interview questions will cover:

·         Your experience / use of the Eligibility Criteria
·         The Guidelines which accompany the Eligibility Criteria
·         A section by section consideration of the criteria statements and scoring
·         The application of the Eligibility Criteria in the allocation of service support
·         Your views on the usefulness of the Eligibility Criteria

The South East Sensory Impairment Partnership Development Day on 6th June was well attended and set the scene for the partnership work for the future, in 2008  and beyond for 2009. The SERSEN website will act as a communication tool for our activities and as a start to this the presentations from the day are accessible.

• Lindsey Rousseau sets the scene for SI activities in the context of the new regional working arrangements
• Eileen Boothroyd talks about the relevance of the SE SI Partnership to the voluntary sector work for children and young people with multi sensory impairment
• Bob Denman gives the background and demonstrates the SI provision management tool which is proving to be so useful to services and schools
• Karl Wall puts the voices and wishes of young people in the centre of our planning, with examples from the Getting There With Confidence (VI) Project
• Philippa Stobbs brings us up to date with developments for young people with SEN and disability from DCSF

Download available presentations from the event...

SENSE SITG | Getting there with confidence | DCSF SEND Presentation | SESIP

Independent Schools - Suzanne Wilkins

Annual Quality Report
South East Disagreement Resolution Group

Action Plan 2008 - 2009
Key priority – Improving the life chances of children and young people with sensory impairment

South Eastern Sensory Impairment Partnership
Sensory Advisory Services and the Independent Sector: An Overview

Understanding Christopher

Christopher and his mother, Gillian, were first interviewed in 2001 when Christopher, then aged 18, was in his last year at school.

This online version is a large file and lasts for 32 minutes but should stream happily with a broadband connection. It is viewed using Windows Media Player 10.

To order a copy of the video please contact pam.cox@westsussex.gov.uk .

You can also view the video. It is also available in the RESOURCES section of the Onlineinset.net online module "Understanding Autistic Spectrum Disorders."

Lindsey J Rousseau Tel: tel: 07711 030711 e-mail: lindsey.rousseau@btinternet.com

ADHD Information and support: A very comprehensive public interest website: www.addandadhd.co.uk/home.htm focused on comprehensive advice on adhd. A particularly relevant/useful page to your site is at:

www.addandadhd.co.uk/askourexpertscategory.htm

Please note that the content of external web links is not the reponsibility of SERSEN or its partners.

 

Childhood Epilepsy Study Day for Secondary School Staff

The day is aimed at teachers, SENCOs and support staff in mainstream secondary schools.

Please follow the web-link to the relevant page of the website: http://www.ncype.org.uk/epilepsy/childhood-epilepsy-training-for-professionals/secondary-school-staff/

Thyere is also a study day for Educational Psychologists on 23 June – http://www.ncype.org.uk/epilepsy/childhood-epilepsy-training-for-professionals/study-day-for-educational-psychologists

If you need any more information or you have any questions:

Enquiry Service
Childhood Epilepsy Information Service
National Centre for Young People with Epilepsy
St Piers Lane
Lingfield
Surrey RH7 6PW
Tel: 01342 831342 (Mon - Fri 9am - 1pm)
enquiry@ncype.org.uk
www.ncype.org.uk/information