Welcome to the NatSIP Website

This website offers access to a wealth of SI resources, most of which are now freely available.  We encourage you to register on the site for full access to everything we have to offer.  Registration is free, and open to anyone.  A walkthrough/howto on the registration process is here.

This virtual event on Tuesday 10 June 2025 (09:30-12:30) offers an opportunity to hear from various representatives who have been taking part in case studies as part of the CFVI research project.

In this webinar, we will be focusing on the progress made in implementing the Curriculum Framework for Children and Young People with Vision Impairment (CFVI) following its launch in March 2022. We will hear from various schools and service providers on how they have gone about embedding the CFVI in their service delivery and day-to-day practice, and what they have learned along the way. We will also share an overview of some of the other research activities that have been undertaken as we have tracked and supported the implementation of the CFVI.

We hope that this event will be beneficial for education professionals working with children and young people with vision impairment and policymakers who are interested in how the CFVI can be used to support the inclusion of this population.

  • This event is free and open to the public, staff and students with an interest in the education of children and young people with vision impairment.
  • Registration is essential to receive the link to MS Teams which will be sent closer to the time of event to all that register.

Visit: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/education/events/2025/06/cfvi-case-studies to register for this event.

The NatSIP Eligibility Framework for Scoring Support Levels document was updated in 2017 and is well used as a reference within the sector.

In 2024, following feedback from and discussions with the MSI (multi-sensory impairment) sector, NatSIP recognised that there was a need to assist teachers who support learners within special school settings to offer a different and more appropriate use of the eligibility framework for children and young people specifically with MSI.

This new Briefing Note attempts to address the very individual nature of MSI learners in different settings.

Following consultation with MSI colleagues we have proposed, where applicable and suitable, adding a weighting to some of the existing MSI criteria when they are evaluated for a CYP with MSI in a special school. The weighting is not applied in the same way if the CYP attends a mainstream school.

To illustrate the weighting system more clearly, two case studies are included in this document. Our thanks go to those in the sector who contributed to this part of the work.

As well as the briefing note itself, a completable blank score sheet is available.

Available documents:

NDCS has published a report that looks at how families experience informed choices and how this impacts the decisions that they make on language and communication. ​

The research was carried by Gwen Carr for the National Deaf Children’s Society. Although the research was based in Scotland, the findings apply across the whole of the UK.

The report contains a number of important findings. For example, it found that many families talked positively about the support they had received. Professionals also spoke about the importance of putting the family first and being led by their needs. It highlights the challenges that many families face in accessing information and support.

To find out more about the research, you can read our summary for parents and the full report.

You can also read our position statement on informed choice too.

Training:

Accessibility Planning: Opportunities and Implications for SI practice.  Exploring the 2025 DfE guidance for schools
Date:

Tuesday 25 March 2025
Time:

13:30 - 15:45

 We were pleased to welcome 63 delegates and speakers at the online training event on 25 March 2025.

 Under discussion was the recently published Department of Education and Council for Disabled Children updated guidance to support schools to understand their responsibilities inrelation to children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and to empower governors and trustees to hold their schools to account.

Our keynote speaker was Philippa  OBE, who is working with DfE, as a CDC Associate, on a set of Equality Act guides for future publication.  

Other speakers included:

  • Brian Lamb (NatSIP)
  • Caireen Sutherland (Seashell Trust)
  • Joanne Hogg (Lead QTVI for Sheffield VI Service)
  • Ruth Crosby-Stewart (Head of Services for Middlesborough STARS, the Sensory Support Service across four neighbouring LAs).

The following presentations are available:

In addition, as Lindsey Rousseau mentioned during the training, NatSIP is pleased to be an engagement partner for the DfE's Inclusion in Practice project.  There is a short presentation available about the project and an invitation to submit examples of effective practice where specialist expertise has supported inclusive practice in mainstream schools.

As contributors from our partner organisations Guide Dogs and NDCS, we were joined by

NDCS has updated the briefing note on what government figures say on the attainment of deaf children in England, from the Early Years Foundation Stage to Key Stage 4. The briefing note now includes figures from last year.

https://www.ndcs.org.uk/media/9599/ndcs-note-on-attainment-data-2024_final.docx

The briefing note can also be accessed via www.ndcs.org.uk/data.

By way of reminder, government figures only capture deaf children if they have been formally identified as having a special educational need (i.e. those at SEN support level or who have an EHC plan). These figures also exclude those where deafness is not the primary need. These figures should therefore be used with caution. They are, however, the best figures that are publicly available that we at NDCS are aware of.

Lots of Dots has been developed to raise awareness of the importance and value of inclusion. It does this through fun, multi-sensory activities, two of which tie in nicely with Braille 200 celebrations so are ideal for use in VI awareness sessions.

Download a free copy of the resource from RNIB's website: Lots of Dots Activity Pack.

No specialist knowledge of vision impairment or braille is needed to use Lots of Dots so it's perfect for mainstream colleagues and community group leaders who want to champion inclusion, as well as VI education professionals.

Please find a link here to the world’s first piece of research covering Charles Bonnet Syndrome in children that has been shared by Judith Potts, Founder and Trustee of Esme’s Umbrella. The research is titled ‘They’re creepy creatures with human-like features’: children’s experiences of visual hallucinations in Charles Bonnet syndrome – a qualitative study’.

The Curriculum Framework for Children and Young People with Vision Impairment (CFVI) Resource Hub, which sits within RNIB Bookshare website, just got even better with a refreshed new accessible design.

The new website still has the same functionality that gives easy access to resources for those working with children and young people with a vision impairment (CYPVI) across the UK allowing them to better support their learners.

In collaboration with researchers from University College London (UCL) and Aston University Birmingham, NDCS has developed a series of video resources for families of children with mild or unilateral hearing loss offering practical advice and reassurance.

Based on research findings, the videos, hosted on a dedicated YouTube playlist, also link to our website and useful resources mentioned throughout.

Last year, VI education professionals shared how their services are implementing the CFVI. In a short document, the project team has summarised some of the ways in which the framework is being used: https://viewweb.org.uk/wp-content/public-files/Practical%20implementation%20of%20CFVI.docx

The full document with further ideas, including sections focusing on specific areas of the framework, can be downloaded from the RNIB website: https://media.rnib.org.uk/documents/CPD_Shared_Practice_2024.pdf

We are pleased to announce that NatSIP will be hosting a free, drop-in on-line workshop is for Heads of Service who have been (or will be) asked to respond to the 2025 CRIDE Survey on Thursday 6 February 2025.

For more details, please see here.

Event:
 Lunchtime Online Discussion:  SI and Complex Needs
Date:
 Thursday 12 December 2024, 12:30 - 13:30

 

We held a successful lunchtime discussion session on Friday 12 December 2024, with Joe Booker, (Lead Practitioner, Seashell Trust) as lead presenter.  The discussion covered three themes:

  • Identification and assessment in special schools
  • Measuring progress in special schools
  • Working with special school staff

Joe's presentation is now available to download from the Document Library

Available document:

The Consortium for Research into Deaf Education (CRIDE) reports summarising the results of the 2024 surveys in each of the four nations are now available. They can be accessed from either of the below websites.

https://www.batod.org.uk/information/cride-reports/

https://www.ndcs.org.uk/cride

A UK-wide summary will be published separately in the new year.

RNIB’s free CPD sessions for the spring and summer term are now open for booking on RNIB’s website: Training for professionals supporting learners with VI. Sessions are held on Teams and topics include braille, wellbeing, complex needs, reformatting and making practical lessons inclusive. All education professionals are welcome.

BATOD has recently published a guide for higher education (HE) and teachers of deaf young people supporting transition to HE. It is available from BATOD:  'Articulating the specialism – the role of the QToD in HE'.

Event:
 Conference:  Raising the profile of multi-sensory impairment
Date:
 Wednesday 21 May 2025  09:30 - 15:30
Venue: In person at Sense Touchbase Pears, 750 Bristol Road, Birmingham BN29 6NA
Cost

£80/delegate, reduced to £70/delegate for NatSIP-member organisations.
Booking:

Fully booked. Places on the waiting list are available

Please note that the event booking fee is non-refundable after 7th May.

 

Calling all MSI specialists!

University of Birmingham, Kent STLS Sensory Service and NatSIP are delighted to invite you to join a learning and networking event for specialists working with those with multi-sensory impairment (or single sensory impairment) focused on practical applications for inclusive education.

Wednesday 21 May 2025   09:30 - 15:30

In person at:  Sense TouchBase Pears, 750 Bristol Road, Birmingham BN29 6NA

With keynote speakers in the morning, sector stallholders over lunch, and workshops in the afternoon, there will be presentations and discussions around some of the most pertinent areas in multi-sensory impairment provision and support.

For more details see here.

  1. UCL project on early auditory experiences of deaf toddlers
  2. NHSE new guide 'making a decision about glue ear'
  3. RNIB CPD training
  4. Childhood deafness - research priorities
  5. Meeting Local Hearing Health Needs: A Guide for Integrated Care Systems
  6. PhD opportunity - University of Manchester
  7. Listening to Learn - a new resource booklet available now
  8. Family-Centred Early Intervention (FCEI) principles and NDCS
  9. My NDCS - a new app for parents of deaf children
  10. New RNIB FOI reports available now
  11. RNIB CPD sessions
  12. Communication tips for people who are deaf or hard of hearing
  13. Visual Communication and Reading Development Research Project ( VisCR) - Recruitment for September 2024
  14. Reasonable Adjustments in Schools - new guidance from NatSIP and Guide Dogs
  15. Training to be a BSL GCSE teacher
  16. SAVE THE DATE- for the Family Day: Marvellous Me for families of deaf children on Saturday 21st September 2024 from 12pm-4pm at the British Library in London