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.

Christmas is just around the corner so make sure your children with vision impairment get their letter from Santa in an accessible format by completing the online form on RNIB’s website: Letter from Santa

Requests must be received by Sunday 1 December.

The Mary Kitzinger Trust workshop on the theme of ' well being of siblings of children with visual impairment and other conditions' will take place on Saturday 16th November via Zoom. Details are available here: 

https://www.letsreg.co/uk/event/mary_kitzinger_trust_workshop_-_sat_16th_november_2024_12102024#init

Last year NDCS published a summary of some research led by Dr Hannah Cooper at UCL Ear Institute, and funded by the National Deaf Children’s Society. It sought to explore the early auditory experiences of deaf toddlers and identify if/when radio aids might be helpful, whilst still being mindful of other environmental sounds that might be important for deaf children to access.

We are now able to publish the full report for this research.

A research article on Deafness and Education International is also available separately.

Both can also be accessed via our website at www.ndcs.org.uk/research.

By way of reminder, the full recommendations of the research are as follows:

  • Professionals should consider the full sound environment of deaf children under 18 months of age when recommending technologies to parents.
  • With good guidance for use, radio aids would be beneficial for deaf children under 18 months of age, enabling parents to use radio aids effectively.
  • Further research should identify the finer requirements for the use of radio aids for access to both speech and the meaningful sound environment for deaf children under 18 months of age.

Booking is now open for the OLT/NatSIP event for HoSS on Thursday 14th November from 3 to 4.30pm.

This event, led by Richard Skelton from OnLine Training (OLT) is to enable HoSS colleagues who are interested to come together to explore the new models of working and finance being proposed by OLT and to have an introduction to the school training coaching model.

There is no charge for attending this event and we look forward to receiving your request for registration.

There are a limited number of places available and priority will be given to NatSIP members.

To request a place please email Mike Hinks (NatSIP administrator) as soon as possible and before 11th November : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

University of Birmingham, Kent STLS Sensory Service and NatSIP are delighted to let you know about a MSI conference and networking opportunity coming up in 2025.

Save the Date:  Wednesday 21st May for this one day face to face event at TouchBase Pears, Birmingham!

Details and information about how to book your place will be coming out very soon.

The NHS in England has published a new guide on glue ear for children with hearing loss:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/PRN00675-iii-making-a-decision-about-glue-ear-if-your-child-has-hearing-loss.pdf

RNIB's free CPD training for VI professionals is now open for booking. This term the topics will cover:

  • Exams
  • Complex needs
  • Retinitis pigmentosa
  • Technology

All sessions can be booked via RNIB's webpage: Training for professionals supporting learners with VI

The National Deaf Children’s Society teamed up with the University of Manchester, Aston University and Lancaster University, to find out what the research priorities are in childhood deafness, according to the people with real experience. Children, parents, and professionals working with children with deafnes/hearing loss. A survey opened in May 2024 and has now closed. A basic summary of the respondents to both the adult and children versions of the JLA surveys can be found on the following pages

https://personalpages.manchester.ac.uk/staff/anisa.visram/JLA_adult

https://personalpages.manchester.ac.uk/staff/anisa.visram/JLA_children

'Meeting Local Hearing Health Needs: A Guide for Integrated Care Systems' has been produced by the Hearing Loss and Deafness Alliance, 29 organisations spanning the voluntary and independent sectors and professionals working in the NHS,  to ensure that commissioners and health providers are aware of the resources developed to support the NHS Action Plan on Hearing Loss and other relevant guidance produced by NICE and other health bodies. By following the guidance commissioners and providers can be assured that they will be following best practice requirements to ensure that hearing health is promoted and hearing loss is addressed within health systems, improving lives and saving the NHS money.

The guide is now live in the News Section of the Alliance website https://www.hearinglossanddeafnessalliance.com/news-and-updates/more/118/page/1/alliance-publishes-new-guide-to-support-the-action-plan-on-hearing-loss/

Deaf education department colleagues in the University of Manchester have been granted the funding for a PhD for the study on risk and protective factors for deaf children's spoken language. They are now accepting applications. Details are available through this link:

https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/risk-and-protective-factors-to-spoken-language-acquisition-for-deaf-children-in-the-uk/?p172645 

An exciting new booklet ‘Listening to Learn’ is available from the Ewing Foundation website: https://ewing-foundation.org.uk/listening-to-learn/

Listening to Learn is an e-booklet which is succinct and contains just the key information needed for busy people involved in the education of deaf children.

  • It explains what glue ear is and how it can make listening hard work and tiring.
  • It outlines the simple steps that can be taken to help children to hear at school. 
  • It provides information about improving the listening environment.

A new set of Family-Centred Early Intervention (FCEI) principles for children who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) was published in February in a special edition of the Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education. There is free access to this at: https://academic.oup.com/jdsde/issue/29/SI

This is an expanded version of an international consensus statement on evidence-based practice, that was first published in 2013 by a consensus team of international experts in early intervention. The revised/expanded Principles have been refreshed with the latest evidence. There has also been a stronger focus on coproduction with family leaders and DHH leaders in the expanded version.

As before, there are ten Principles where there has been found to be strong consensus – these are summarised in this slide.

The National Deaf Children’s Society is thrilled to announce that My NDCS, a brand-new app for parents of deaf children is available to download for free.

The app is there for every family, no matter their child’s level or type of deafness. To support their child today and as they grow, parents can:

  •     Explore tailored information and support whenever they need it. 
  •     Read real-life stories from other families and deaf role models.
  •     Record key moments using the journal. 
  •     Find out about events led by our experts.

Visit the NDCS website for more details and a poster that you can print and share: ndcs.org.uk/my-ndcs-app.

The latest Freedom of Information reports from RNIB are now available: England 2023 and Northern Ireland 2023.

These reports contain a summary of findings from RNIB's Freedom of Information requests into education service provision for children and young people with a vision impairment.

The new FOI reports are available here: Freedom of Information Reports | RNIB

RNIB is pleased to announce that their CPD sessions for education professionals for the summer term are now open for booking:

Training for professionals supporting learners with VI | RNIB