Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he has taken to ensure that Qualified Teachers of Visual Impairment are not deployed away from their core role of providing specialist support for children with a vision impairment.

During the period of national lockdown, primary, secondary, alternative provision, special schools and special post-16 institutions should allow vulnerable children and young people, including those with an education, health and care plan to attend. To support this, on 7 January 2021, we published guidance for schools on the current national lockdown, which is available at the following web link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak.

On 14 January 2021 we published additional guidance for special school, special post-16 providers and alternative provision during the national lockdown at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/952377/Guidance_for_special_schools__specialist_post-16_providers_and_alternative_provision_during_the_national_lockdown.pdf.

This guidance makes clear that specialists, therapists, clinicians and other support staff for pupils can provide interventions as usual where this is reasonably necessary, including where this requires them to move between settings.

On occasions, special schools may encounter circumstances where they cannot provide their usual interventions and provision at adequate staffing ratios, or with staff with vital specialist training. In these circumstances they should seek to resume as close as possible to the specified provision for the child or young person as soon as possible.

Where it is necessary to take this approach, education settings should work collaboratively with families to make these assessments and agree an approach that is in the child or young person’s best interests. This should take into account the support that the child or young person needs and the specific circumstances affecting the family, and their views as to what would be appropriate. Any decisions taken should be regularly reviewed.