Room 2 - Curriculum Room (Section 6 of 8)
Section 6 – Other considerations
Links with other curriculum areas and professional groups
In our research we looked at many curriculum documents sent to us from many services in the UK. We also spoke to many professionals involved in the education of visually impaired children.
References made to other areas of the curriculum in mobility and independence policy or curriculum documents were relatively rare. For example, one curriculum document contained a checklist item, ‘participate in gym and PE with confidence’. The most comprehensive curriculum document of this type formally referred to other professionals under headings of ‘Reinforced by’ for different areas of the mobility and independence curriculum. For example, the area of the curriculum concerned with body awareness was ‘reinforced by’ the physiotherapist, speech therapist, and other subject areas including PE. Two other respondents had statements referring to other areas of the curriculum embedded within policy documents. Indeed one defined ‘cross curricular’ work as a distinct area (separated from ‘everyday mobility and independence’ and ‘special curriculum’).
Nevertheless, in the previous sections we made links between different parts of the M&I Curriculum framework and other aspects of children’s education. These are summarised here:
Early and foundation mobility and independence - body and spatial awareness:
- Foundation curriculum.
- Low Vision Team
Early and foundation mobility and independence - social and emotional development:
- Physical education curriculum
- Personal, social and health education
- Citizenship
- Counselling
Advanced mobility and independence - travel skills:
- Physical education curriculum
- Geography
- Low Vision Team
Advanced mobility and independence - independent living skills:
- Design and technology (food)
- Science (regarding practical work)
- Physical Education (dressing)
- Personal, social and health education
- Low Vision Team
Activity 7
Before you read the following examples, write down three examples of ways you could think of how to include M&I in other areas of the child’s education.
Good practice: Some examples of links with other curriculum areas and professional groups
The following are examples given by services who participated in the research project, whereby the M&I curriculum overlapped with other areas of a child’s education:
In Food Technology lessons children need to be taught useful skills, like making tea, toast, using a microwave, etc which the child can use at home. RHONDDA-CYNON-TAFF
As PE relates to mobility lessons, the Mobility Officer works closely with a QTVI who was trained as a PE teacher. DUDLEY
The Mobility & Rehab Officer tries to relate mobility lessons to activities that the child is doing in other subjects – like Geography (e.g. studying Africa – so went to place where they could touch an animal, etc), and Maths (handling money). SALFORD
On wet days the Rehab Officer teaches children how to dress/undress for PE lessons, which also reinforces this skill at home. NEWCASTLE
Problem solving
It is important to identify all the different skills required by children in order to help professionals and carers teach them. Some of these skills may be more or less complex than each other, or may be better suited to certain age groups.
However, a dimension rarely covered within the documents analysed in the research were issues related to the ‘depth of understanding’ of students. What we mean by this are some of the more complex skills associated with M&I which involve things like ‘transferability’, ‘generalisation’ and ‘problem solving’.
Examples might include:
- If a child is able to dress themselves with one outfit, can they do it with others that are a little different?
- If a child knows a route, are they able to problem solve if there is an unusual obstacle on that route?
Activity 8
Write down two other examples which would demonstrate that a student has a good depth of understanding of an M&I skill.
Accreditation
A number of respondents who sent details of their mobility policy described methods of accrediting students for M&I achievements. Some were associated with other external schemes e.g. Compact and Youth Award Scheme and one was specific to wheelchair use. Some were used to communicate abilities (and therefore level of independence) to all staff, and others were used only within the mobility and independence ‘team’. Just one example was found of accreditation for teachers or carers in the staff induction.
Related to accreditation, some respondents described a role of implementing whole-school policies and approaches to mobility. Some systems described were very formal. For example, the EXEAT system at the Royal Blind School in Edinburgh, a residential special school for pupils with visual impairment, is a system of grading that clarifies to all staff where children can go safely either independently or aided, and therefore is not just accreditation for the pupils, but also a means of communicating to staff.
A number of people we talked to also described formal methods of accrediting students for mobility competence. Accreditation is:
- Often associated with other external schemes (RoSPA Award Scheme, West of England School)
- May be specific to certain client groups (e.g. wheelchair users)
- Used to communicate abilities of the child and therefore their level of dependence and independence to all staff within the school (e.g. Royal Blind School), and Recorded in personal records of achievement for the child to keep.
- Accreditation for children in mainstream would be beneficial, since it gives them a record of their achievements, which can inform other children, school staff and their families of exactly what they have been doing in mobility and independence lessons, and what they have achieved. As well as informing others of the child’s present abilities and areas where they may need assistance, it may also help to raise awareness of the importance of mobility and independence education.
Good practice: Some examples of accreditation in mainstream education
In mainstream education accreditation for children seems much less common. However, some examples of accreditation were identified:
Many children put together ‘mobility books’ which might include tactile maps or route instructions in Braille or print. These not only aid revision, but are a kind of record of achievement that the child can show to classmates, teachers and their families. CAMBRIDGESHIRE
Blind children receive ‘tactile certificates’ when they reach a target level which is individual to them since all children operate at different levels. The school then has a record of their achievement in mobility and independence. NORTH YORKSHIRE
A checklist of mobility and independence skills is completed for each child in the resource base, which is made into a ‘record of achievement’ booklet for them to keep when they leave school. Children also receive certificates for achieving different tasks, e.g. for going to the post box unaided. Children are not compared to each other, only to themselves. KIRKLEES
One LEA service is considering the introduction of a ‘pupil profile’ for children regarding mobility and independence skills, which they can take with them when they move to another class or school. NORTH YORKSHIRE
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