Sensory Support Service
Support for children and young people who are deaf, have vision or multi-sensory impairment. Sensory support helps children and young people to learn at home, in early years settings and schools by working with families and a range of professionals from educational settings and services, health care, social care and voluntary organisations.
Sensory Support Service will support your family at home and help your child’s early years setting or school by providing:
- assessment of your child’s educational needs
- support families to promote their child's development
- training and support so that your child is fully included in the early years setting, school or other educational setting and makes good progress
- direct support and teaching for children who need to learn specialist skills, such as Braille
- advice and support to help your child develop independence and life skills
Early years support
Support in early years includes:
- home visits
- working with parents and carers to help a child develop specific skills, such as helping a blind child to learn to play using their other senses, helping a deaf child to communicate, or providing advice and information
- provide opportunities for family learning, such as Acorns and Explorers sessions, which are for young children and their parents or carers from the time they’re diagnosed to meet others, share information and learn together.
Support in educational settings
Support in educational settings includes:
- training for teachers and teaching assistants and providing support, such as programmes of work to develop specialist skills
- advise on planning lessons that take in account hearing and visual impairment issues
- advice on strategies and approaches in the classroom, including how to adapt teaching materials
- providing independence training in schools
- teaching specialist skills like listening skills and Braille