Room 4 - M&I Policy and Service Room (Section 1 of 7)
Section 1: Identifying professionals involved in delivering the M&I curriculum
Description of this section
This section aims to map professionals/people to different responsibilities in the delivery of the mobility and independence curriculum. Inevitably, there is no single correct way. The research project demonstrated that diverse models of provision involving a variety of different professionals are adopted across the country, and many examples of good practice have been identified in each. This is also a sensitive topic as it draws boundaries around different professions, in particular those of the Mobility Officer / Rehabilitation Officer, QTVI, and Teaching Assistant.
Throughout this resource we have used the generic term ‘Mobility and Independence Educators’ (MIE) to represent those who lead mobility and independence education of children with a vision impairment. This term was used because it has emerged that different professionals take on this mobility and independence educator role depending upon a number of important factors, which include:
- The part of the mobility and independence curriculum being covered
- The aspect of delivery being considered, i.e. referral through to completion
- The role being adopted, i.e. tutor, advisory tutor, advisor
- Local decisions made by the LEA regarding what they consider to be the most efficient way to provide a mobility and independence curriculum. Dependent factors here include size of the LEA and the numbers of children with vision impairment, service offered by local social services departments, local presence of a voluntary organisation which can offer a service
- The training and experience of the professional.
Mobility and Independence Educator and M&I curriculum area
The Curriculum Room proposed a mobility and independence framework that divides the mobility and independence curriculum into four overlapping areas. Each of these areas requires a lead Mobility and Independence Educator who is able to co-ordinate the teaching of the curriculum. Proposed options for lead Mobility and Independence Educators are given in the table below.
Table 1. Options for lead Mobility and Independence Educator for different areas of the mobility and independence curriculum
| Curriculum Area. | Options for the lead MIE. |
|---|
| Early and Foundation Mobility and Independence. |
Body and spatial awareness
e.g. early sensory-motor development, spatial language, mobility and orientation in different settings |
MO / RO with appropriate experience or additional qualification
QTVI |
| Advanced Mobility and Independence |
Travel skills
e.g. routes and technical aspects of travel, mobility and orientation, road safety, cane techniques |
MO / RO
QTVI with additional qualification |
Independent living skills (ILS)
e.g. kitchen skills, eating, hygiene, money handling, dressing. |
MO with appropriate experience or additional qualification
QTVI
RO
Technical Officer |
It is felt that QTVI training (particularly when their initial teacher training is in primary or early years teaching) equips them best for the teaching of early and foundation mobility skills. Training for mobility and rehabilitation officers tends to focus upon adults, although many have additional qualifications or experience which enables them to teach early and foundation mobility education. In terms of advanced mobility and independence skills, Mobility and Rehabilitation Officers have appropriate training, and are often best placed to lead this work.
The process of teaching is a complex one involving all aspects of the delivery cycle described in the Delivery Room. In terms of referral, while the research report recommends anyone can initiate a referral (parent, class teacher, SENCO, etc), in our view the QTVI should co-ordinate this process. The QTVI works closely with the child and is best placed to initiate a required intervention (which may be ongoing). In terms of assessment, programme design, review (and potential completion), the lead Mobility and Independence Educator as defined in Table 1 above should co-ordinate and lead this process.
Importantly, many others must be involved in this process, in particular those who are directly involved in the intervention process which is described below. The interviews revealed a large array of professionals and others who are usefully involved in these processes, some of whom may take a central role for some aspects of the mobility and independence curriculum with some children. These professionals are listed in Table 2 below.
Table 2. Professionals and others to be drawn upon for delivery of different areas of the mobility and independence curriculum
| Curriculum Area. | Options for the lead MIE. |
|---|
| Early and Foundation Mobility and Independence. |
Body and spatial awareness
e.g. early sensory-motor development, spatial language, mobility and orientation in different settings |
MO / RO with appropriate experience or additional qualification
QTVI |
Social and emotional development
e.g. asking for assistance, social conventions, manners, confidence and motivation |
MO / RO with appropriate experience or additional qualification
QTVI |
| Advanced Mobility and Independence |
Travel skills MO with appropriate experience or additional qualification
QTVI RO
Technical Officer
e.g. routes and technical aspects of travel, mobility and orientation, road safety, cane technique |
MO / RO
QTVI with additional qualification |
Independent living skills (ILS)
e.g. kitchen skills, eating, hygiene, money handling, dressing. |
MO with appropriate experience or additional qualification
QTVI
RO
Technical Officer |
Key people supporting M&I intervention
A final mapping is required of roles adopted during intervention (i.e. implementation of a designed mobility and independence programme) and key people involved. The Delivery Room described the different roles adopted by Mobility and Independence Educators; personal tutor, advisory tutor, and advisor. As already described above, it is recommended that the Mobility and Independence Educator should be either a Rehabilitation Officer, Mobility Officer or QTVI. However, there are other important roles implicit in this model of delivery, i.e. those who are to implement the advice given. The research found evidence that the people involved most directly in this are teaching assistants in school and parents or carers out of school. Of course, this does not exclude others such as other staff in the school, and to some extent the child's peers.
Education services appear to use teaching assistants in mobility and independence education in a variety of ways. Many recognise the importance of ensuring that the teaching assistant reinforces skills and concepts introduced by the Mobility and Independence Educator. This demands that the teaching assistant is familiar with what has been taught and is able to offer consistent support to the child. Some examples are reported which give the teaching assistant a greater role in the actual tutoring of the mobility and independence curriculum itself. The expectations made of the teaching assistant should be formally identified, particularly when the teaching assistant is expected to tutor the child. This is such an important role that it must not be left to chance. This role demands specialist knowledge of the teaching assistant and some formal training is recommended.
The role of parents is similarly important out of school. Parents need a full understanding of the issues, and how best they can help. Their role must be clearly defined so that they, too, feel confident about what is expected of them, and well supported in their role. Formal expectations should be made. While it cannot be expected that parents have formal training in the area of mobility and independence, support should be given through informal training from the Mobility and Independence Educator.
Review of this section
So far we have identified the key people who should be involved in the teaching of mobility and independence. To summarise then, of particular importance are:
- The Mobility and Independence Educator who has the role of leading and co-ordinating the teaching of mobility and independence - either a QTVI or a Rehabilitation/Mobility Officer
- Teaching Assistants and parents who have a particularly important role in direct intervention with the child
- Many other professionals who have a variety of roles in mobility and independence education.
There are training implications for those who take on these roles. These are discussed in section 2 of this room.
Activity 1
In this section, we have tried to map professionals / people to different responsibilities in the delivery of the mobility and independence curriculum. As stated earlier, there is no single correct way to do this, as the allocation of different roles to different professionals / people is dependent on many factors that can vary from one local authority to another.
Think about the particular circumstances in your authority that might dictate which professional is best placed to carry out different roles, for example to take the lead as the mobility and independence educator for different aspects of the curriculum, or to reinforce programmes designed by the MIE. It is important that you can justify your conclusions.
Recommendations based upon good practice
Role of the Mobility and Independence Educator. This is dependent upon which part of the mobility and independence curriculum is being taught but is summarised as follows:
- Early and foundation mobility and independence, body and spatial awareness - Mobility and Independence Educator should be a QTVI or Rehabilitation Officer with appropriate experience or additional training
- Early and foundation mobility and independence, social and emotional development - Mobility and Independence Educator should be a QTVI or Rehabilitation Officer with appropriate experience or additional training
- Advanced mobility and independence, travel skills - Mobility and Independence Educator should be a Rehabilitation Officer or QTVI with additional mobility qualification
- Advanced mobility and independence, independent living skills - Mobility and Independence Educator should be a Rehabilitation Officer or QTVI.
Other key people who should be involved by the Mobility and Independence Educator include: class teacher, Mobility Officer / Rehabilitation Officer, nursery nurse, Occupational Therapists, parents, Physiotherapist, peers, Portage worker, QTVI, Teaching Assistant.
Supporting mobility and independence education. Teaching Assistants and parents have a particularly important role in direct intervention with the child. These roles should be formalised:
- The role of the Teaching Assistant in the delivery of mobility and independence should be formally specified and agreed.
- Teaching Assistants without a specialist mobility and independence qualification should take on the role of reinforcing programmes and teaching that have been implemented by the Mobility and Independence Educator. This will require awareness training from the Mobility and Independence Educator.
- Teaching assistants with a specialist mobility and independence qualification should take on the role of implementing programmes designed by the Mobility and Independence Educator. The areas of the mobility and independence curriculum is at the mobility and independence educators discretion.
- The role of the parents in the delivery of mobility and independence should be formally specified and agreed.
- Support should be given to parents through training from the Mobility and Independence Educator and contacts for more formal courses provided.
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