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“On starting this course, I had little knowledge of visual impairments and although we do have students with a VI, I have not been directly involved with their support. I now feel I have a much better understanding of the complexities and range of conditions that affect a person's sight as well as how young people have overcome barriers to go on and achieve. I will be researching two particular eye conditions which relate to students at our college. I will also be reading their EHCPs and support needs. Both of these actions will improve the support I could give should I be required to work with those students. I will look at how we adapt lessons to make them more inclusive for students with a visual impairment and be mindful of the social interaction difficulties that are particular to a VI student. Lastly, the importance of promoting independence and seeing how this can best be achieved or improved has been highlighted by completing this course.

“This course has given me a greater understanding and awareness of deafness and how better to support the children that I work with.

“As SENCO I have a clearer understanding of the process I would like us to use to identify, assess and support learners at risk of Dyslexia. As several other members of staff from our school are also doing the training there will be benefits that we've had the same input and same points of reference. It will take a while before I can comment on how the training has impacted outcomes.

“The first section of the course with information about hearing loss and levels, the different types of hearing aid equipment and ways of assessing was useful and interesting. The case studies were interesting to watch and to hear the opinions and thoughts of young deaf people, however, I found this section to be less relevant to my role. The children in the examples were all older and more capable, whereas many of the deaf children we see have more complex needs. However, I did find it particularly useful in this instance to hear the parents’ views and to be reminded of how overwhelming it can all be at this stage and the number of professionals involved within a child's life. It has made me think about the environment in home visits and currently video calls, and the importance of joint visiting with specialist teachers and working together.