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: Jane Sharp
RNIB has recently launched a new and improved Sight Loss Data Tool (https://data.rnib.org.uk), providing up‑to‑date local and national data on vision impairment across the UK. The tool brings together a range of robust data sources and modelling to help build a clearer picture of the scale and distribution of vision impairment and eye health, including among children and young people.
The Sight Loss Data Tool is particularly relevant to Heads of Local Authority Sensory Support Services for Education but will be of interest to others working with children and young people. It supports service planning and workforce discussions by helping practitioners place individual children’s needs within a wider population context. The tool includes:
- breakdowns for children registered as Sight Impaired (SI) or Severely Sight Impaired (SSI) aged 0–4 and 5–17 (where available), and
- modelled estimates of the wider population of children and young people with vision impairment aged 0–16 and 17–25, based on prevalence evidence.
Used alongside RNIB’s children’s vision impairment (VI) services Freedom of Information (FOI) reports which include not just children and young people registered as SI or SSI, but all known to the VI service, the tool helps bring together these different but complementary sources of evidence. While the FOI reports provide detailed insight into how local authority VI services are organised, staffed and funded to support provision, the Sight Loss Data Tool provides population‑level context, showing the wider scale and distribution of vision impairment nationally and locally. Together, they help link service capacity and provision with the underlying level of need.
The Sight Loss Data Tool is a practical resource to support evidence‑based practice, helping practitioners contextualise caseload pressures, inform conversations with local authorities, and strengthen the evidence used in strategic planning.
RNIB is also hosting an online event on 12 May (11am–12pm) to introduce the revamped Sight Loss Data Tool and explore how it can be used in practice. Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you’d like to attend.
- Written by: Claire Manford
You are invited to join us for an in-person Masterclass with Dr Walter Wittich, Associate Professor from the Université de Montréal, taking place at the Deafblind UK Centre for Education and Research, Birmingham City University.
This Masterclass will include a one-hour lecture, during which Dr Wittich will describe his extensive research in the deafblindness field, with a particular focus on his leadership of the development of the WHO ICF Core Sets for Deafblindness, and his reflections on the importance of research for both deafblind people and those practitioners working with them. There will also be a networking opportunity and a dedicated Q&A session.
Please save the date: Tuesday July 7th 2026
The event is free, but spaces are limited so booking will be essential. Further information to follow. Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
- Written by: Claire Manford
As part of our Deafblind UK Centre for Education and Research ‘Deafblind Awareness Week’ activities, you are warmly invited to join us for a webinar with Dr Peter Simcock, to discuss one of the questions we’re most frequently asked: WHO IS QUALIFIED TO CARRY OUT A DEAFBLIND ASSESSMENT?
This online, free, webinar is primarily aimed at Social Services Team Managers, however all with an interest in the topic are welcome to attend. As such, please do share the invitation with your colleagues and networks.
The webinar will take place on June 24th 2026, 12:30-1:30pm.
Follow this link to book your place: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/BYNfwwznS5WsNlYOIiIlwg
- Written by: Lindsey Rousseau
| Event: |
5-Day course for Intervenors |
| Mode: | In-person attendance |
| Dates: | Monday 1 - Friday 5 June 2026 |
| Venue: | The Clare School South Park Aveue Norwich NR4 7AU |
| Trainers: | Jenny Fletcher, Consultant in MSI and HI |
| Cost: | £500/delegate |
This 5-day course is specifically designed for teaching assistants, health care workers, learning support workers, social care workers and those employed to work one-to-one with children, young people and adults who are congenitally multi-sensory impaired/deafblind, or have a single sensory impairment with additional complex needs.
To book a place, contact Alison Roffey: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel 01603 271660
- Written by: Eleanor Briggs
On Thursday 23 April we published ‘Inclusive starts: stronger futures’, our brand-new report which finds that far too often children and young people with a vision impairment in England are missing out on the vital support and learning they need.
Only half (55%) of children have received support from a specialist vision impairment teacher, and less than a third (31%) received essential ‘habilitation’ which supports their mobility and independent living skills.
As you know, without these services, children and young people can often be put at an immediate disadvantage and risk being left behind in their education. Our report shows significant changes are needed to improve access to local authority specialist support services and to increase inclusivity in the classroom, and sets out 10 key recommendations.
With the Government currently reforming the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) system in England, Guide Dogs is calling for the reforms to include these changes to support all children with a vision impairment to reach their full potential and live independently in later life.
- Written by: Lindsey Rousseau
| Event: |
5-Day coursew for Intervenors |
| Mode: | In-person attendance |
| Dates: | Thursday 11 - Friday 12 and Tuesday 16 - Thursday 18 June 2026 |
| Venue: | National Star College Ullenwood Manor Road Cheltenham GL53 9QU |
| Trainers: | Jenny Fletcher, Consultant in MSI and HI with MSI colleagues from Sense |
| Cost: | £500/delegate |
This 5-day course is specifically designed for teaching assistants, health care workers, learning support workers, social care workers and those employed to work one-to-one with children, young people and adults who are congenitally multi-sensory impaired/deafblind, or have a single sensory impairment with additional complex needs.
This course is delivered by Jenny Fletcher and colleagues from Sense.
For more information please contact:
Courtney Down(Training and Apprentice Co-ordinator)
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Tel: 01242 339846
- Written by: Ian Noon
The National Deaf Children's Society has published a briefing which summarises data published by the Department for Education in England on the attainment of deaf children. This includes figures from the 2025 academic year.
The document can be accessed from this link or by going to this webpage and scrolling down to the 4th block.
By way of reminder, this is data for children who have formally been identified by schools as having a special educational need and where "hearing impairment" (the term used by the Government) is the primary need. It does not include all deaf children but appear to the best figures readily available to us at a national level.
- Written by: Ian Noon
The National Deaf Children’s Society has partnered with Hasbro and Peppa Pig on a major storyline about childhood deafness. Hasbro will announce that George, Peppa’s brother, is moderately deaf in one ear. He will wear a hearing aid, and a series of TV and online episodes will follow his hearing loss journey.
The National Deaf Children’s Society has advised on the storyline and is providing ongoing advice, insight and resources. We believe this storyline will help raise awareness of the signs of childhood deafness, as well as the importance of positive and authentic deaf representation.
For the charity, this partnership is a significant opportunity to reach families of deaf children, raise awareness of childhood deafness among the wider public. We also hope it will be an opportunity to highlight the National Deaf Children’s Society as a source of support for all deaf children with any level of hearing loss.
We understand that two key Peppa Pig episodes will air on TV in March.
We know that many families will be avid viewers of Peppa Pig and will welcome this opportunity to see their own lived experiences represented on this programme.
- Written by: Ian Noon
NDCS is launching a new National Deaf Children’s Society Family Fund
Families with a deaf child aged 0 to 11 (or still in primary school) living in the UK may be eligible to receive funding to help pay for equipment and technology that can make a real difference to daily life – at home, in education and beyond.
This funding can support:
- assistive technology specifically related to deafness or hearing loss
- standard technology, such as iPads or similar devices
- support for learning British Sign Language (BSL), including course fees or related costs
As funding is limited, applications will close once all funds have been allocated. We would really appreciate your help in sharing this opportunity with families you work with who may benefit and encouraging them to apply as soon as possible.
Full eligibility criteria and details are available on our website.
- Written by: Lindsey Rousseau
Calling all MSI practitioners and sensory specialists!
Booking is now open for the second learning and networking event, focused on practical applications for inclusive education, for specialists working with deafblind/multi sensory impaired children and young people.MSI Conference: Raising the profile of multi-sensory impairment
In-person on Tuesday 16 June 2026 09:30 - 16:15 at University College London Centre for Inclusive Education.
For details of costs and booking please see here. Early bird offer until 30 March.
With a keynote address, renowned speakers, sector stallholders, a knowledge exchange session with Seashell and UCL and practical workshops, this event is for all MSI specialists.
We will be presenting and discussing some of the most pertinent areas in MSI/deafblind provision and support and there will be opportunities to network and browse sponsor stalls and research posters during the day.
Speakers will include:
- Marguerite Tibaudo M.Ed TVI: Cerebral Vision Impairment and Communication Strategies. Education Director, Deafblind School, Perkins School for the Blind.
- Dr Peter Simcock: Deafblind Guidance Assessment. Associate Professor of Social Work, Centre Lead, Deafblind UK Education and Research Centre.
- Dr Margaret Woodhouse: Down Syndrome and Functional Vision Assessment. Professor, recently retired from Cardiff University School of Optometry and Vision Sciences.
Further speakers and topics to be covered will be confirmed.
- Written by: Sian Lickess
The National Deaf Children's Society commissioned research to explore parents’ experiences of supporting their children (0-4 years) with mild or unilateral deafness, and to learn what advice they would give to other parents.
Led by researchers at the University College London (UCL) and Aston University in Birmingham, the research showed that parents experience significant uncertainty around what mild or unilateral deafness means, what actions are best for their child, and, if they take those actions, whether they’ll be effective.
Findings from these parent interviews informed the development of podcasts and videos.
The Little Ears, Big Challenges podcast series, produced by UCL, features conversations with parents, young people and adults who have lived experience of mild or unilateral deafness.
The National Deaf Children’s Society created a series of videos of families sharing their personal stories and experiences of unilateral deafness.
To find out more about the research, you can read our plain language summary as well as the full report and pre-print publication.
- Written by: Lindsey Rousseau
The Ewing Foundation has news to share with the launch of a new resource: Bookshelf. https://ewing-foundation.org.uk/a-festive-gift/
We hope that this will become the go-to place to find key documents that impact your practice in work with children and young people with sensory impairment (especially deafness) and that you will bookmark the link for quick and easy access whenever you need it.
The link to go straight to Bookshelf is here: https://ewing-foundation.org.uk/resources/bookshelf/
This is a starting point! New shelves will be added to the library over time and we are currently working on a directory which will have lots more useful links for your work.
Your ideas for books and shelves to be added would be greatly appreciated too.
- Written by: Lindsey Rousseau
NatSIP, BATOD and NDCS were delighted to welcome over 100 participants at this online event on Microsoft Teams.
The opportunity to explore partnership working between NDCS and specialist services in the context and development of the 2023 NDCS strategy, Every Moment Counts was very welcome. We learned some detail about the roles of the new Community Connectors and the Early Intervention Advice and Guidance Officers (EIAGOs) and their interface with local education professionals and families.
The slides from NDCS Platform Leads Jemma South and Alison Worsley's presentation are now available in the NatSIP Document Library.
Available document:
Some follow up questions and answers following the webinar from NDCS
Thanks to everyone who joined us last week for our presentation on the role of Community Connectors and Early Intervention Advice and Guidance Officers (EIAGOs) and for your questions. Thanks to Teresa's excellent moderating, we got through most of the questions but there were a few questions that we didn't have time to cover. As promised, please find our answers to these further below.
- Written by: Lindsey Rousseau
The Sense website has information which includes details about deafblind assessments
What to expect from your council if you're deafblind - Sense
- Written by: Ian Noon
Alison Worsley and Jemma South, Platform Leads at National Deaf Children’s Society, have given an update about changes and developments in the way that NDCS is supporting children and their families to help set them up for life.
You can read the briefing below and if you would like more information abouthe NDCS strategy and the new roles, please contact Alison and Jemma via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
- Written by: Lindsey Rousseau
The National Deaf Children's Society, BATOD and NatSIP have worked together to develop a briefing on the specialist needs of deaf children and the role of Teachers of the Deaf. This seeks to summarise the role of Teachers of the Deaf (ToDs) in meeting the unique and specialist needs of deaf children and young people. It also provides evidence, statutory context, and key considerations for anyone involved in reviewing or commissioning specialist education services for deaf children.
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