Specialist Teacher Advisory Service – M.S.I.

• We provide information & support, liaise with parents/carers so they can make on-going informed choices.

• We advise on communication modes and provide training.

• We train staff in educational settings on MSI, its impact on access to the curriculum, communication & social skills, mobility and independence.

• We assess, monitor and report CYP needs with particular reference to their access to the curriculum, communication & social skills, mobility and independence.

• We provide advice to educational settings on target setting, exam arrangements and record keeping. • We attend Annual Reviews and other multi-agency meetings if appropriate.

• We liaise with a range of other professionals e.g. health, school & voluntary agencies. • We represent the needs of CYP to other officers in the Local Authority and help them to express their views.

• We provide direct teaching to children working on specific skills e.g. Braille/signing.

• We advise on the use of ICT equipment in educational settings to aid access to learning.

• We provide training on the use and maintenance of equipment e.g. radio aid systems.

• We advise on listening environments and physical adaptations to schools to meet the needs of CYP.

• We visit CYP in settings such as special schools, colleges and independent schools when appropriate.

• We sign-post parents/carers and staff in educational settings to other useful agencies and contacts.

• We refer CYP to a Paediatric Rehabilitation Officer for Visual Impairment (PROVI) for mobility and/or daily living skills training as per the referral criteria.

We work with children and young people (CYP) who have a multi-sensory impairment (MSI). We support them from diagnosis, which can be soon after birth, through to college. We do not accept referrals for CYP with auditory or visual processing difficulties.

We take referrals from:

• audiology and ENT departments

• ophthalmology departments,

• Hampshire Local Authority SEN/STA Teams

• Other Local Authority SEN/STA services for multi-sensory impairment (which meet our criteria for referral).

There are no charges for pre-schools, maintained schools, academies, free schools or colleges. There is no need to use a personal budget for this service; it will not add anything to what is already provided, unless it is used to pay for training in situations where costs are presented to schools. For babies diagnosed through the Newborn Screening Programme response times are in accordance with NHSP quality standards guidance. For older CYP, once it has been agreed that the child or young person meets criteria for support an initial visit is arranged within six weeks, excluding school holidays.

We have office bases in Winchester, Basingstoke and Havant. We cover the whole of the Local Authority. The service on offer is the same across Hampshire.

These decisions are made using our criteria for referral. There may also be discussions with professionals in health and education who work with the child or young person. We will either write to or speak with parents to explain the outcome of initial referrals and when CYP who have previously received input no longer meet criteria for support.

We communicate directly with service users during visits to homes and educational settings. We also conduct a bi-annual survey seeking the views of schools on the impact of our service. Representatives from parent support groups attend the Sensory County Advisory Group. We also communicate with service users through the Children's Hearing Services Working Groups. Meetings of these multi-agency groups are convened by each hospital audiology department and have representatives from health education social care and voluntary agencies and parents and carers. We have many specialist leaflets on hearing and visual loss, the educational implications and access to the curriculum. Service users are encouraged to ask the teacher adviser working with their child or young person or in their educational setting for any appropriate leaflets. You will know how well your child is doing though written reports and conversations as well as the usual reporting arrangements used by each educational setting. The service supports families and CYP who wish to use British Sign Language (BSL), Sign Supported English (SSE), Makaton or other methods of communication.

Our service is delivered within the home or the CYP’s educational setting. It is unusual for them to attend their local Hampshire office base.

CYP with a multisensory impairment will be supported by a Specialist Teacher Adviser for Hearing Impairment (HI) and Visual Impairment (VI) who will both hold mandatory qualifications in their respective fields. In addition to this staff have received further training on the implication of a multi-sensory impairment and one member of staff in each team has additional training and qualifications in MSI. We are committed to supporting on-going professional development for all the Team.

We work in accordance with the Local Authority’s safeguarding policy and procedures.

We would advise parents and carers of CYP who are in educational settings to contact the setting initially for more information. Parents and carers of young children who are not yet in an educational setting should contact us directly. You can speak to any Specialist Teacher Advisor, Hearing or Visual Impairment in your nearest local office for initial information and advice. You may then be directed to a particular Teacher Advisor working within your geographical area who will have specific local knowledge.