Sensory and physical

Some children and young people require special educational provisions because they have a disability that prevents or hinders them from making use of the educational facilities generally provided.

These difficulties can be age-related and may fluctuate over time.
Many children and young people with vision impairment (VI), hearing impairment (HI) and multi-sensory impairment (MSI) will require specialist support and/or equipment to access their learning or habilitation support.

Children and young people with MSI have a combination of vision and hearing difficulties.

Some children and young people with a physical disability (PD) require additional ongoing support and equipment to access all the opportunities available to their peers.

Support from Hearing Support, Vision Impairment, Multi-sensory Impairment, Physical Disability, and Down syndrome Specialist Teachers

For children and young people who have a hearing and/or vision impairment, only medical referrals can be made directly to the Integrated SEND Service. All referrals require confirmation of a medical diagnosis.

If you wish to make a request for support to the sensory and physical/medical Specialist Teachers in relation to a child or young person the relevant essential eligibility criteria must be met:
1. There is a formal medical diagnosis in relation to sensory and/or physical difficulties and this significantly impacts on the child or young person’s learning. Deaf and hearing impaired children and young people are expected to be referred to the service as soon as a diagnosis is made by audiologists.
2. Core provision will be provided for children and young people with permanent hearing loss. This can be defined as mild: 21-40dB, moderate: 41-70dB, severe: 71-95dB profound: in excess of 95dB or children and young people who have a conductive hearing loss who are given hearing aids.
3. Children and young people with vision impairment and cerebral visual impairment will have vision that is less than 6/12 and/or loss of visual field.

For children and young people who have a Physical Disability or Down syndrome, medical referrals can be made along with referrals from other professionals e.g. Portage, SENCo, Physiotherapist, or Occupational therapist.

All referrals will need to be sent to sts@buckinghamshire.gov.uk along with supporting information. Parents are then asked to give their signed consent.

In line with the tiered approach, it is recognised that schools/settings need access to early intervention and support.

A decision on how much time will be spent with a child or young person with a sensory or physical impairment will be measured using modified national criteria (NATSIP), which takes into account how well a child or young person is functioning in school or at home. For a pupil with Down syndrome, the service matrix will be used to determine support.

A formal diagnosis in relation to needs in this area is required to access core services.