Steps to Independence

Room 6 - Resource Room (Section 3 of 7) 

Section 3 – Recommendations based upon good practice for service delivery

A number of recommendations based upon good practice were identified in the final full research report, particularly relating to the delivery of the M&I curriculum, which provide a useful summary of procedures and policies that a mobility and independence service should have in place. They have been gathered together here to provide easy access to these more practical recommendations.

Good practice recommendations for referral

All children with a visual impairment should have a basic assessment to determine whether they require mobility and independence support immediately or potentially in the future.

Children should be referred at key times. These should include:

  • Initial diagnosis of the visual impairment (this would include pre school children).
    Entry to nursery/reception if child attends.
  • Entry to compulsory state education ( at age 5).
  • Transition periods of moving to a new school e.g. from primary to secondary, relocation.
  • Leaving secondary school or the education system, in liaison with other agencies if they will take over responsibility for mobility and independence support.
  • Ideally an assessment should be carried out within each key stage of their school career.

Responsibility for making referrals needs to be clarified with all key people. Awareness raising should play a part in this, not only by the mobility and independence educator but in conjunction with the broader education service:

  • Parents need to understand what mobility and independence is all about, and their role throughout the process (not just in referral). The QTVI or Mobility and Independence Educator should take a lead in communicating with the family, preferably in person. Obtaining parental consent presents an ideal opportunity to do this.
  • QTVIs need to have a level of awareness about possible mobility and independence issues so they can correctly identify them. INSET should play a key role here, along with ongoing liaison between them and the Mobility and Independence Educator, and the use of referral forms and checklists.
  • Class teachers and teaching assistants who have contact with a child who is visually impaired should also undergo some form of training from the Mobility and Independence Educator to raise their awareness of mobility and independence issues.
  • Health professionals including consultants, community paediatricians and health visitors should also receive awareness training (possibly in the form of literature), along with liaison with the Mobility and Independence Educator or QTVI.
  • Referral routes should be clear; one person within the education service should be designated as the receiver and co-ordinator of all referrals.
  • The referral route should be clearly defined and described in the mobility and independence policy held by the education service, which should be made available to all concerned agencies (social services, health service, voluntary organisation, etc).

Good practice recommendations for assessment

Assessments can take a number of forms and specific recommendations regarding the form they should take are presented below. However, all assessments should identify clear action points and associated responsibilities. Copies should be held by the school, the parents, and the service. The mobility and independence educator should be responsible for carrying out all assessments.

Initial assessment

  • Initial assessments should be holistic in nature covering the broad mobility and independence curriculum.
  • If more than one agency or professional is involved with the child, procedures for co-ordination and collaboration should be in place.
  • Assessment must be carried out in relevant locations (e.g. home, school, both familiar and unfamiliar), and involve people who are closely involved with the child.
  • A variety of methods should be used, including observation, discussion with the child and key people, use of games and relevant tasks, as well as consulting records and reports about the child.
  • Formal record keeping methods should be used (e.g. checklists).

Environmental risk assessments

  • For pre-school children, the environmental assessment must include the home environment, to provide the parents with advice on ensuring that their home is as safe and mobility and independence-friendly as possible.
  • An environmental assessment should take place before school entry and at times of transition.
  • Minimum levels of adaptation should be specified.

Good practice recommendations for programme design

  • Programmes should have directly relevant/useful outcomes for the child.
  • The background of the child should be taken into account, to ensure they are equipped with life skills that are relevant and necessary.
  • The child should have some input into the type of skills or activities included in a programme.
  • Mobility and independence should reinforce and relate to other curricular subjects where possible.
  • The integration of age-appropriate activities into the programme is a useful ‘rule of thumb’ for children in mainstream, though may not be appropriate for all.
  • There should be short-term targets which are achievable.
  • Individual sessions should not be too long, and should be made as enjoyable for the child as possible.
  • Programmes should promote inclusion.

Good practice recommendations for intervention

Responsibility for mobility and independence education

Many people have responsibilities in the delivery of mobility and independence education. The key dimensions in deciding who is responsible, and when, are:

  • The roles being adopted (i.e. tutor, advisory tutor, advisor)
  • The part of the mobility and independence curriculum being covered, and
  • The aspect of the delivery being considered (i.e. referral through to completion).

Potential options for allocating professionals / people to different responsibilities is given elsewhere in the report and this resource (see M&I Policy and Service Room). However, recommendations for good practice can be summarised as follows:

  • The education service for visual impairment should be responsible for clearly defining roles and responsibilities for delivering the mobility and independence curriculum (even if some of it is provided by other agencies).
  • Many aspects of mobility and independence education require intensive one-to-one tutoring requiring specialist professionals (i.e. QTVI, Mobility Officer, Rehabilitation Officer).
  • Reinforcement of mobility and independence skills which the Mobility and Independence Educator introduces is important; key people to reinforce aspects of mobility and independence under the instruction of the Mobility and Independence Educator are teaching assistants in the school environment, and parents in the home environment.
  • The important role of mobility and independence awareness raising and ‘recruitment’ of those working most closely with the child should be recognised when managing provision.
  • Some aspects of mobility and independence intervention may be suitable for teaching assistants with appropriate specialist training – the notion of a ‘mobility and independence assistant’.
  • Provision of all aspects of the mobility and independence curriculum (including independent living skills, and early and foundation mobility and independence for pre-school children) should be recognised and should involve close liaison with professionals and parents.
  • Health and safety aspects of mobility and independence curriculum delivery must be considered, and the necessary insurance cover taken out by the employer of the staff involved.

Time for mobility and independence education

  • There should be one person responsible for negotiating time for mobility and independence sessions, with the key contact in a given school. The mobility and independence policy should clearly identify these people by job title (and name if possible).
  • Time allocated for mobility and independence should be considered on each case’s individual circumstances; e.g. the age of the child, the type of mobility and independence need they have been referred for, the appropriate time of day for the mobility and independence skill, the benefits and disadvantages of missing certain lessons if it has to be in school time.
  • If children have to be taken from lessons, different times should be negotiated to ensure the same lesson is not consistently missed.
  • Children should have access to mobility and independence support in the school holidays if required.
  • Continuity of provision between school and home (and school holidays) should be demonstrated.
  • It must be recognised by all involved that mobility and independence education takes time. It may be appropriate to offer some children with visual impairment (and their families) time-tabling options so that they can make appropriate choices, e.g. reducing non-core foundation subjects to allow for more mobility and independence time, or vice-versa.
  • Time should also be available for the Mobility and Independence Educator to advise others working with the child.

Good practice recommendations for review

Services must adopt a long-term perspective when organising mobility and independence provision which is reflected in long-term educational goals regarding mobility and independence, rather than a series of ad hoc interventions. To achieve this, the following is recommended:

  • The mobility and independence policy document should detail the procedures adopted for monitoring children.
  • Children must be monitored whether they receive one-off support or are on a rolling programme. Responsibility for this monitoring should be allocated to a person or persons who have a good awareness of mobility and independence issues (likely to be the QTVI).
  • The Mobility and Independence Educator must be involved in educational planning and reviewing processes, including IEPs, statements and annual reviews for all children where mobility and independence is a concern.
  • Formal record keeping mechanisms should be in place to record the child’s progress. This should be linked to other formal educational planning and reviewing processes.
  • Reports should detail what has been achieved with the child and any areas needing further input, with recommendations about when further assessment/intervention should take place, if appropriate.
  • Copies of reports must be given to parents and agencies involved with the child so that everyone is kept informed and duplication of effort is avoided.
  • Accreditation should be considered to reward children for their achievements, and raise the profile of mobility and independence with school staff, the child’s peers and with their family. It also builds up the child’s own self-esteem.
    Good practice recommendations for completion

Agencies should liaise and share information to enable a smooth transition from one agency/authority to another. This relies upon clear mechanisms for transfer of information being in place, and appropriate record keeping as described in the Good Practice Recommendations for Review.

Good practice recommendations for pre-school services

  • A pre-school service for children with a visual impairment should include support for the mobility and independence curriculum.
  • In addition to working directly with the child, emphasis should be placed upon empowering and involving parents in their child’s development.
  • A qualified teacher of the visually impaired is often ideally placed to be the Mobility and Independence Educator.
  • Pre-school mobility and independence work should link with other agencies, e.g. Portage.

Good practice recommendations for post-school and FE provision

  • Periods of transition from statutory education to adulthood need careful planning by the LEA in partnership with the new provider of mobility and independence. Education should take the lead role.
  • Reports detailing the mobility and independence education received during the child’s school career should be passed on to the new agency responsible for providing mobility and independence support. This should link up with other policies and procedures (e.g. Connexions).
  • Mobility and independence educators who have previously worked with children throughout their school career should be directly involved in the transition of young people especially to local colleges where there is no mobility and independence provision. This may have funding implications.
  • Social services departments should establish contact with children who are visually impaired during the later stages of their education and to be aware of arrangements made for the transition period, i.e. contact should be made prior to the child leaving school. This is essential where another agency, rather than a social services department, has been the main provider of mobility and independence education to children at school.

Additional implications of mobility and independence upon the work/policies of the DfES and LSC may also require further attention:

  • The DfES need to ensure that the planning guidance issued to Connexions partnerships includes a requirement that they address the mobility and independence needs of young people and to work with all appropriate agencies to ensure that these needs are met.
  • The DfES need to develop training modules for Connexions personal advisers that enable them to recognise and respond effectively to clients with mobility and independence needs.
  • The national LSC and all local LSCs across England should ensure that their contracts with learning/training providers include a requirement that the mobility and independence needs of post-16 learners are addressed effectively.
  • Opportunities should be provided for support staff in mainstream sector colleges to receive specialist training to support mobility and independence.
  • The effects of the revised SEN Disability Act on young people’s access to mobility and independence support in FE and schools should be monitored.

Good practice recommendations for MDVI provision

Many of the recommendations developed from this research can be applied to the provision of mobility and independence to children with MDVI, in particular those relating to policies and procedures. However these must be sensitive to the particular needs of children with MDVI.

Many aspects of the mobility and independence curriculum recommended in this report are relevant to children with MDVI, in particular aspects of the curriculum relating to early and foundation mobility and independence. However, it is important to modify teaching methods and activities so that these are relevant and meaningful to children with MDVI. This may involve teaching idiosyncratic and unique techniques to enable children to achieve some level of independence in a functionally equivalent manner. Further detailed research is required in this area.

Good practice recommendations for culturally sensitive provision

The mobility and independence policy should make reference to the needs of children and families from ethnic minority groups. The specific content of this will depend upon the location of the service. In particular, there should be policies in place for the following:

  • Ensuring that any professionals employed by the service are aware of and sensitive towards cultural differences that may affect mobility and independence education content and delivery.
  • A willingness to work with members of the extended family where appropriate.
    Written information provided to all families should be clear. This is particularly important for parents or carers who are not familiar with the English education system and/or for whom English is an additional language.
  • Services need to have in place arrangements for professional interpreters should a family require the facility.
  • The mobility and independence policy needs to address how the service will respond to a request for the mobility and independence educator to be the same gender as the child.

Good practice recommendations for the role of special schools for pupils with visual impairment

There are opportunities for special schools for pupils with visual impairment to support mainstream mobility and independence provision through outreach work. Particular areas include mobility and independence curriculum development, awareness training of staff, delivery of some aspects of the mobility and independence curriculum, demonstration of environmental adaptations, and carrying out environmental assessments. Beacon school status and regionalisation are mechanisms that encourage/support this collaboration.

Good practice recommendations when considering the role of different agencies

When proposing the ideal model of provision for a particular authority, several factors have to be taken into consideration, including:

  • The number of children with a visual impairment in the authority and any additional needs they may have.
  • The geographical size and location of the authority.
  • The presence of a voluntary organisation or social services department in the authority area that is equipped to provide a suitable mobility and independence service to children.

With this in mind the following recommendations are made:

  • For many authorities the ideal model is to have one (or more) mobility and independence educator (usually a mobility officer/rehabilitation officer) employed by the education service. If the model is implemented correctly, the mobility and independence educator is managed as part of a broader educational team, and this enables successful collaboration within the visual impairment service and with school and home. When this model is applied attention must be given to holiday and home-area provision.
  • In some circumstances the mobility and independence educator in this model may be a QTVI with appropriate additional training. This may be suitable in small education services where it is not economically feasible to employ a mobility and independence educator who works solely on mobility and independence education.
  • In authorities where there is a suitable external agency or consultant able to provide some part of the mobility and independence service to children, contracts should stipulate which parts of the mobility and independence curriculum are being covered and the expected levels of communication between agencies.

Good practice recommendations for the construction of a mobility and independence policy

Education services should review and audit their provision of mobility and independence education in order to develop a policy. It should:

  • Be shared with, and agreed by, all involved in mobility and independence education, including other agencies.
  • Map the mobility and independence curriculum with delivery procedures and those involved in that delivery. It should make explicit reference to the following:
    1. Definitions and descriptions of all aspects of the mobility and independence curriculum.
    2.Referral, assessment, environmental assessment, programme design, intervention, review and completion.
    3.Child protection policies.
    4.Policies related to particular children and young people and their context (including pre-school and post-school/transition, children with MDVI, and issues of cultural background).
    5. Procedures for record keeping and how this relates to formal procedures within the SEN Code of Practice.
    6. Key people involved in delivery and what is expected of them (e.g. Mobility and Independence Educator, class teacher, teaching assistants, QTVIs, parents, peers). This should include clear child protection guidelines.
    7. And contractual arrangements for working with different agencies.

Good practice recommendations for identifying staff to deliver mobility and independence education

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.

Implications and good practice recommendations for those training key staff

The findings have several implications for the training of those supporting mobility and independence education. Some of these implications can be thought of as good practice recommendations for training providers which can be implemented within existing programmes. These are listed in turn below. However, there is also an implication regarding training standards which is of significance to all training courses. Training courses in the area of mobility and independence education (for QTVIs, mobility / rehabilitation officers, and teaching assistants) have tended to develop in different ways and the standards they adopt may not always be comparable. For this reason it is recommended that interested parties should agree on common standards for training.

(1) Implications for training of QTVIs. In some cases second level training (top up/extension courses) for QTVIs should be available to allow them to teach advanced mobility and independence travel skills to children in the absence of a qualified rehabilitation officer. However the use of QTVIs to deliver this aspect of the curriculum is expensive. Their role in the delivery of mobility and independence is likely to be one of supervising and advising other key people who have a role in the delivery of the mobility and independence curriculum. Training (including possibly second level programmes) which prepare QTVIs for managing and delivering mobility and independence programmes in mainstream settings would be more appropriate.

(2) Implications for first-level training of rehabilitation officers. As part of their basic two-year training programme all rehabilitation officers should receive:

  • A sense that they have a responsibility for the whole age range of people with a visual impairment.
  • A grounding which develops an awareness of the differences between working with children and adults.
  • An opportunity to work with children in their practical placements.
    An understanding of the role of a rehabilitation officer working with an education service.
  • An understanding of inclusion and inclusive practices.
  • An introduction to the mobility and independence curriculum.

To achieve this aim the training providers might make use of tutors who have a background in working with children. Programmes should establish better links with education services and QTVIs.

(3) Implications for second-level training of rehabilitation officers. More training programmes should be available with a child–specific focus for those working in schools. Training programmes should allow staff to be based in education establishments for much of their registration. Such training would enable the rehabilitation officer to be the mobility and independence educator for a broader part of the mobility and independence curriculum (specifically early and foundation mobility and independence).

(4) Implications for training of those supporting mobility and independence education. Formal routes through accredited training pathways should be identified and incorporated into teaching assistant standards developed by the Local Government National Training Organisations (LGNTO). The training path should allow for the possibility of a teaching assistant using credits in training and eventually train as a mobility officer / rehabilitation officer.

(5) Training programme location. Any training programme focused upon mobility and independence education should afford access to placements in educational settings because of the opportunities this allows for working directly with children and allowing trainees to make immediate links between theory and practice. Special schools and schools with large visual impairment resource bases, especially those which cater for children across the full range of ages and abilities, make ideal locations for the training of mobility and independence educators either as stand-alone courses or in association with regional voluntary or statutory organisations (see Chapter 3, section Special Schools for Visually Impaired Pupils). Such programmes could be regionally co-ordinated in line with the recommendations of the 1997 Green Paper (DfEE, 1997).

(6) A professional forum for mobility and independence educators. A professional forum for those supporting mobility and independence education is a useful mechanism to enable support and development of, and communication between, mobility and independence educators. Within this project the ‘Mobility and Independence Specialists in Education’ group (MISE), a group which is part of the RNIB/VIEW Curriculum structure, have proved an excellent source of expertise. The work of this group should continue, and interested voluntary organisations should seek ways to support their work further.

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