SEND Green Paper: What We Are Doing

At Thomas Pocklington Trust (TPT) we are gathering information and evidence to better understand the experiences of blind and partially sighted students and how special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision is delivered.

We know there are barriers blind and partially sighted students face when trying to access further education (FE). We are collecting evidence to strengthen our calls to ensure all blind and partially sighted students can fully access their studies.

This work includes:

• We have surveyed qualified teachers of children and young people with vision impairment (QTVIs) to hear their experiences and views on post-16 specialist support, what works and what doesn’t.
• We have sent a Freedom of information (FOI) request to head of sensory services at local authorities to understand how specialist support services are delivered to post-16 settings.
• On 29 June we hosted a focus group of young blind and partially sighted people to find out about their experiences within education and what recommendations they had for improving the system in the future.
• On 7 July we co-hosted an event with NatSIP in which we discussed the SEND Review and green paper consultation. The event brought together specialist professionals who work with blind and partially sighted students in post-16 education to hear their views and recommendations.
• At the end of July, we submitted our response to the SEND green paper consultation. Read the summary and download the full response.

We have also, in partnership with RNIB, Guide Dogs and the professional association for the vision impairment education workforce (VIEW) written a statement outlining our joint position on the green paper.

We want to hear from you

If you have a view on education and would like to share your experiences, contact us at studentsupport@pocklington-trust.org.uk. Please leave your name, contact details and an overview of your experiences/ views and we will be in touch to find out more.