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.
- Written by: Lindsey Rousseau
This University College London research project looking into the into the role of visual communication in reading development in deaf children is being led by Professor Mairéad MacSweeney & Research Assistant Elisabeth Taunton.
To date the team have recruited 68 deaf 4year olds from around England and are looking to recruit 50 children to join the project who are starting reception in September 2024.
Information about the project can be found at Visual Communication & Reading Development Research Project | Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience - UCL – University College London and the team can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
- Written by: Lindsey Rousseau
Yesterday (5 March 2024), Guide Dogs held an online launch event for the launch of new Reasonable Adjustments in Schools Guidance.
This guidance, produced in partnership with NatSIP, is designed to help teachers, schools and local authorities ensure that the approximately 41,000 children and young people with vision impairment across the UK have access to better support throughout their education with the same chances and opportunities as their sighted friends.
The guidance is available on the Guide Dogs Website and also in the NatSIP Document Library.
The following country-specific guidance documents are available::
- Written by: Teresa Quail
In light of enquiries coming through to stakeholders (NDCS, BDA, BATOD, Signature, ABSLTA etc) on how to train as a BSL GCSE teacher we have collaborated together on a response to these enquiries in relation to secondary schools in England only.
Firstly, it is exciting that there are enquiries coming through on training to be a BSL GCSE teacher. We recognise the recent media coverage on the BSL GCSE has sparked such interest and we hope this comes to fruition.
There is another consultation by Ofqual on GCSE BSL in 2024; see Signature’s press release. The BDA have also released a press statement calling on the Government to invest in Deaf teachers to deliver the BSL GCSE. Teacher supply and training has been mentioned in the Government response to the consultation (p11-12) which gives further information on the DfE’s views in this matter; suggesting that the current workforce of BSL teachers already teaching BSL in the post-16 education sector could be utilised to teach BSL GCSE, as well as guidance on ITT BSL GCSE training for new trainees.
- Written by: Karen Riley
During the last Family Day: Our World on 23rd September last year, over 1000 people attended the event.
Please put the date in your diaries now for our next Family Day for families of deaf children on Saturday 21st September 2024 from 12pm-4pm at the British Library in London.
We have chosen the following theme for the Family Day, which we hope will be popular with families of deaf children:
Family Day: Marvellous Me - Celebrating the uniqueness of every child.
There will be creative activities that celebrate being an individual, discovering what inspires us and makes us unique, as well as championing others and exploring untold stories.
Please share the information with families, staff teams and through local newsletters & networks to encourage deaf families and families of deaf children to come along and have a fantastic day out for FREE! More information on the programme for the Family Day will be sent out in the summer term and will also be available on the British Library’s website (www.bl.uk) nearer the time.
- Written by: Jane Sharp
RNIB has published new reports providing insight into the current state of local authority provision for children and young people with vision impairment in England and in Northern Ireland. Read the reports on the RNIB website:
- Written by: Lindsey Rousseau
Seashell Trust has been awarded a contract by the DfE to offer a PG Diploma Mandatory Qualification in MSI. The course will start in September 2024 and will be delivered in partnership with a University, providing academic rigour as well as offering an opportunity to make use of the state of the art specialist campus at Seashell.
This offers teachers wishing to specialise in MSI a choice of training course and establishment again. This ensures children with MSI have access to the specialists they need and enhances availability of course providers for the sensory impairment sector.
The Seashell Trust MQ course will be delivered through distance learning and also offer ample opportunity to visit the Seashell site and benefit from the specialist facilities there.
Expressions of interest and applications are open now and you can find out more here: https://www.seashelltrust.org.uk/mqmsi-pgdip/. You will find that at the bottom of the webpage there is a link to book onto one of the monthly "Q&A - find out more about the course" online sessions.
- Written by: Teresa Quail
The specialist deaf curriculum framework (SDCF) has been launched by BATOD on 21st February 2024. It is available here: https://www.batod.org.uk/resources-category/specialist-deaf-curriculum-framework/ and has been written to support deaf babies, children, young people, and their families to develop knowledge and make informed and independent decisions about their deafness, from identification through to adulthood.
The deaf curriculum framework project began in February 2021 as an initiative from a NatSIP training event, and has been jointly funded and steered by BATOD and the NDCS.
NatSIP Online Training - Local Area SEND Inspections - 8 February 2024 - Presentations Now Available
- Written by: Lindsey Rousseau
Over 50 contributors and delegates joined us online on Microsoft Teams to contribute to the NatSIP training event on Local Area SEND inspections: The new Ofsted framework and priorities for the SI sector on Thursday 8 February 2024.
André Imich gave his last keynote presentation as SEND Professional Advisor for the Department, after 14 years in the role, and was able to update us on DfE developments and priorities in the SEN Change Programme as well as talk about the inspection process. André has been a champion for children and young people with SEND, including SI and the professionals who support them, and NatSIP will miss his input.
NatSIP members followed on during the afternoon with their recent experiences of Local Area inspections and the influence SI specialists may have in the process.
Presentations from the event are available in the NatSIP Document Library.
Available documents
- Written by: Lindsey Rousseau
Katy Mitchell (Ewing Foundation) and Jennifer Royds (parent of a child with glue ear) are delighted to introduce Glue Ear Together (GET)
Working together with families, education and health, we aim to provide clear, up-to-date information that promotes positive outcomes for children with glue ear.
The Glue Ear Together website (www.glueeartogether.org.uk), developed with funding from the Ovingdean Hall Foundation, provides clear information about the cause of glue ear, common signs and symptoms, impacts on development, and interventions recommended by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence.
- Written by: Lindsey Rousseau
In a workshop with the Department for Education in September 2023, a number of heads of specialist education services for children with sensory impairment identified concerns around the supply of qualified teachers of children with sensory impairment and challenges around recruitment.
In late 2023, NatSIP invited responses to an on-line survey from heads of services and specialist provision, to explore and better understand and evidence these issues and concerns. The survey received 44 responses from across the UK.
This results document describes the survey, and provides a summary of its findings and results.
Available Document
- Written by: Ian Noon
The National Deaf Children’s Society have updated their note on what government data says about the attainment of deaf children in England in 2023. It also includes data, where available, on the progress made by deaf children between key stages.
https://www.ndcs.org.uk/media/9182/ndcs-note-on-attainment-data-2023.doc
(this can also be accessed via www.ndcs.org.uk/data)
- Written by: Caireen Sutherland
RNIB has the following information about the educational attainment of children and young people with vision impairment available on their web site.
Available document:
- Written by: Lindsey Rousseau
NatSIP is pleased to announce the availability of a new briefing document collated by a number of NatSIP Partner organisations in response to the Department for Education document Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan.
NatSIP would like to ensure that the needs of children and young people with SI will not be overlooked in implementation and testing during the pilots exploring changes to the SEND framework through the DfE's Change Programme. Support for children with low-incidence needs, such as SI, may look different from that for other types of need.
Available document:
- Written by: Ian Noon, NDCS
Update from Ian Noon at NDCS:
BSL GCSE
NDCS is pleased to welcome the news from the Department for Education that the GCSE in British Sign Language will go ahead. DfE have published a blog which outlines next steps:
https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/12/21/british-sign-language-gcse-everything-you-need-to-know/
More detail about the response to the recent consultation and the subject content can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/gcse-british-sign-language-bsl-proposed-subject-content
NDCS has a timeline for for the history of the campaign for the BSL GCSE at:
SEND Review Change Programme
NDCS has published a FAQfor families about the Change Programme in England and what it might mean for them. The blog emphasises that parents’ statutory rights around SEND have not changed. You can find it at:
https://www.ndcs.org.uk/blog/changes-to-send-support-in-england/
Review of Children’s Audiology Services
NDCS has published a blog for parents about the NHS England Paediatric Audiology Improvement Programme. This explains what families can do if they have any concerns or think they have been affected by the issues in some services.
https://www.ndcs.org.uk/blog/nhs-england-review-of-children-s-audiology-services/
- Written by: Ian Noon
The Consortium for Research into Deaf Education (CRIDE) has this week published the reports from the 2023 surveys of educational staffing and provision for deaf children.
These are available on BATOD and National Deaf Children’s Society websites at the following links:
https://www.batod.org.uk/information/cride-reports/
We hope to publish a UK-wide summary of the reports early in the new year.
CRIDE would like to thank everyone who has supported this work and we hope that people find the reports interesting and useful.
- Written by: Ian Noon
Following an NHS England audit of children’s audiology services which revealed significant quality and safety problems in some trusts, NHS England has developed an improvement programme, which all Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) have been asked to implement immediately.
The NDCS briefing has been developed to support CHSWGs in any discussions on the improvement programme that may be taking place in their local areas. It is intended for those outside of audiology, and who may be less familiar with the improvement programme and the role of ICBs. It includes some suggested questions for discussion that CHSWGs may wish to raise, as appropriate, as a starting point for discussion and further exploration.
The briefing can be accessed by going to this link: https://www.ndcs.org.uk/media/8972/2023-10-briefing-for-chswgs-national-paediatric-hearing-services-improvement-programme.pdf
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