Welcome to the NatSIP Website
This website offers access to a wealth of SI resources, most of which are 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
| Event: |
Sensory impairment resource base provision - Join the discussion |
| Mode: | Online via Microsoft Teams |
| Date: | Tuesday 1 July 2025 13:30 - 15:45 |
| Cost: | £60/delegate, reduced to £30/delegate for NatSIP‐member organisations |
| Booking: | Open now |
Who is this event for?
This event is for SI heads or senior leaders of schools and support services, heads and managers of VI, HI/deaf, SI resource base provision and colleagues in organisations working with children and young people with sensory impairment in schools and settings.
What will the event cover?
Specialist resource bases or units are additional provisions within mainstream schools that support children and young people with specific needs, including SI.
The UK Government has wide-ranging long-term plans for reform to help more pupils with SEND to have their needs met in mainstream schools. As part of this the Department for Education (DfE) is currently researching into the impact of SEND units and resourced provision and how they operate.
Why should I attend?
This event will be an opportunity to hear from the DfE policy lead for the SEND unit research, and to share knowledge and learning about existing SI provision, with a focus on the different models for low incidence resourced provision.
For more information and a booking form, see here...
- Written by: Lindsey Rousseau
NatSIP is pleased to welcome back Steve Rose to deliver another presentation of our Bodily‐Tactile Communication and Tactile Signing Course starting in July 2025.
| Course: |
Bodily‐Tactile Communication and Tactile Signing |
| Delivery mode: | Hybrid delivery in 3 sessions: Session I: Online via Microsoft Teams Session II: In-person attendance in London Session III: Online via Microsoft Teams |
| Dates: | Session I: Wednesday 16 July 2025 08:30 ‐ 12:30 Session II: Wednesday 20 August 2025 10:00 ‐ 16:00 Session III: Wednesday 24 Sept 2025 08:30 ‐ 12:30 |
| Session II Venue: | Thomas Pocklington Trust, 3 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3AR |
| Cost: | £200/delegate, reduced to £120/delegate for NatSIP‐member organisations |
| Booking: | All places have now been allocated. Book now to join the waiting list |
| Booking closes: | 10 June 2025 |
Who is this course for?
This course is for specialist teachers, speech and language therapists, intervenors, teaching assistants and family members who are exploring, using and assessing tactile communication in children and young people with deafblindness, or who would benefit from using tactile sign strategies in mainstream and specialist settings.
Course prerequisites:
Delegates should have a foundation level of signing skills: British Sign Language, Sign Supported English or keyword approaches such as Makaton or Signalong. Signs will not be taught. Principles will be taught to enable you to adapt your existing use of signing in the visual mode.
How is the course delivered? What are the session dates?
The course is delivered over three sessions:
- Session I: Wednesday 16 July 2025 08:30 ‐ 12:30 Online via Microsoft Teams
- Session II: Wednesday 20 August 2025 10:00 ‐ 16:00 Face‐to face attendance, London
- Session III: Wednesday 24 Sept 2025 08:30 ‐ 12:30 Online via Microsoft Teams
Where is the face-to-face session?
The venue for Session II on 20 August is: Thomas Pocklington Trust, 3 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3AR
What does the course cover?
- The theoretical frameworks of bodily tactile communication and tactile sign signing and how these come together in emerging tactile language users
- Practical aspects of supporting learners who communicate in a bodily tactile way and supporting the emergence of tactile language
- Principles of tactile sign language and adapting sign language to the tactile mode
- Supporting assessment and goal settng for learners using bodily tactile communication and tactile sign language
About the presenter:
NatSIP Associate Steve Rose is a speech pathologist/deafblind consultant. He is a national advisor (deafblindness) for the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (UK) and an active collaborator in national and international groups focusing on tactile language and cognition.
He is a specialist in working with people with deafblindness, sensory impairment, multiple disability and rare diseases. Steve is passionate about developing practice‐based evidence focusing on interests in early intervention, parent-child interaction, video‐based practices and tactile language.
He is currently based in Melbourne, Australia, where he is working in the deafblind space at Vision Australia and Deafblind Information Australia.
How much does the course cost?
The cost is £200/delegate, reduced to £120/delegate for NatSIP‐member organisations.
How many places are available?
The course is limited to 15 delegate places. All delegate places have now been filled. Please complete a booking form to be added to the waiting list.
Please direct any queries to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Available documents:
- Written by: Juliette Taylor
This webinar, 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.
Please visit: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/education/events/2025/06/cfvi-case-studies to register for this event.
- Written by: Caireen Sutherland
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:
- Written by: Ian Noon
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.
- Written by: Lindsey Rousseau
| 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:
- document Philippa Stobbs' Presentation
- document Joanne Hogg's Presentation
- document Ruth Crosby-Stewart's Presentation
- pdf Caireen Sutherland's Fact Sheet
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
- Alexander Clarke, Senior Policy, Public Affairs and Campaigns Manager for Guide Dogs who updated us in the use and development of the Guide Dogs publication on Reasonable Adjustments for VI learners in schools
- Edward Cleere and Lorraine Friend-Thomas, Legal and Education Appeals Specialists with NDCS who introduced us to important information available through the NDCS website, including The law when working with deaf children and young people and their advice and guidance helpline.
- Written by: Ian Noon
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.
- Written by: Jane Sharp
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.
- Written by: Loretta Knop
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’.
- Written by: Juliette Taylor
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.
- Written by: Emma Fraser
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.
- Written by: Jane Sharp
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
- Written by: Lindsey Rousseau
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.
- Written by: Lindsey Rousseau
| 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:
- Written by: Lindsey Rousseau
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/
A UK-wide summary will be published separately in the new year.
- Written by: Jane Sharp
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.
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