We are pleased to announce that following a successful application for funding to the Thomas Pocklington Trust, NatSIP and its partner VI organisations are now embarking on the delivery of a new programme:  Building VI Confidence and Competence in the Schools Workforce.

The programme aims to address the needs identified by the DfE-commissioned UCL Gap Analysis and NatSIP Gap Analysis papers on Training Gaps for the SI*  Workforce in Schools, especially around initial awareness, knowledge and skills before the intervention of specialist teachers.(*SI includes HI, MSI and VI)

The programme will further develop NatSIP’s face-to-face training offer to support online/virtual modules and delivery.  This development is especially relevant post-COVID, as a move to provide more training and support online will continue post the latest stage of the pandemic.

This programme will aim to provide a series of modules offering an initial introduction to the key elements of awareness, knowledge and skills for education practitioners in the classroom to support the needs of early-years and children with VI.

Online training will also enable the VI sector to reach out to a wider schools' audience and support the work already being done through specialist QTVI support services locally. While online training courses through RNIB and VIEW already exist, these are longer, specialist courses.  The NatSIP training and revised course materials will cover skills and knowledge needed by those in the front-line schools worksforce, before the intervention of more specialist teaching and support.

As part of the programme, we also aim to update some NatSIP VI resources to take account of emerging operational issues post-COVID, including the the move to remote support for some children, the importance of early learning and intervention, and changes in practice. This updating will include the NatSIP Guidance on TA’s (2016) [specifically the VI section].

This updated resource will form part of the core advice and information for the course modules, along with the revised training materials.

The original two day, face-to-face, courses on which this programme is based were funded by DfE, and were positively evaluated by participants including SENCos, Teachers and TAs.  The courses were very popular, although attendance was limited by geographic access and constraints on time.  It is not possible to continue to offer these courses-face-to face due to cost.  In these post-COVID times, face-to-face training is less appropriate.

Online delivery will ensure that we can offer these courses in a more accessible and cost-effective way, that better fits with the participant’s ability and time to undertake training. and which will reach a wider number of professionals.

The programme will run from October 2021 to September 2022.