- For residents
- Schools, learning and early years
- Adult courses and learning
- Subsites
- Sensory support service
Our vision for children and young people with sensory impairment, their families, and their educational settings.
Our vision is that:
- all children and young people with sensory impairment:
- are able to learn and achieve
- are independent
- have high aspirations
- participate and contribute to society
- are happy and live fulfilling lives
- families of children and young people with sensory impairment:
- show good levels of adaptation to their child’s conditions
- feel confident in promoting their children’s development
- are able to communicate effectively with their children
- celebrate their children's successes
- educational settings:
- are inclusive
- develop effective ways of meeting each learner’s individual needs
Collaborative working with families and a range of agencies and organisations is embedded in our practice.
The service vision statement is learning, growing and succeeding together.
Who can make a referral to the Sensory Support Service, what criteria we use when considering a referral, what happens next.
Who can refer
Most referrals come directly from hospital but we have an open referral system.
You can refer to the service if you're a:
- health visitor
- therapist
- social worker
- parent
- teacher
- early years' practitioner
Criteria for referral
There needs to be evidence of the presence of a vision or hearing impairment, or both.
If medical information is not provided with referral, we will request this before we consider the referral.
How to make a referral
You can make a referral:
- by phone
- by letter
- by email
We have a document referral form for vision (61 KB) which you can download.
What happens next
Referrals from Newborn Hearing Screening Programme will be followed up as per national targets and contact with family made within 48 hours.
For other referrals:
- we consider the medical information provided
- contact is made
- if appropriate we will arrange a visit and assessment
For all referrals we use the National Sensory Impairment Partnership (NATSIP) eligibility framework and our own matrix of support which is used to decide on the level of support needed at that stage.
How the Sensory Support Service supports children and young people with sensory impairment, their families, and their educational settings.
What we do
We provide advice and support to children and young people with sensory impairment (hearing, vision or multi-sensory impairment) from birth to 25 years of age, their families and educational settings.
We work with children and young people from birth to 25:
- at home
- in Early Years' settings
- in educational settings (mainstream and special)
- in Further Education (FE) colleges
We do provide support for children and young people within independent schools if the child or young person has an education, health and care plan (EHCP).
Our work covers:
- assessment and identification of needs of children and young people with sensory impairment, including statutory assessments of Education, Health and Care Needs
- advice and support to families enabling them to promote their child's development
- advice, support and training to ensure educational settings meet the needs of children and young people with sensory impairment in their settings
- developing programmes of work and provide direct teaching of specialist skills for children and young people.
- information and guidance about useful strategies, resources or other organisations
- awareness raising and professional development for staff working in settings
The level of support we offer depends on the level of need and can change over time. It is based on the eligibility framework from the National Sensory Impairment Partnership (NATSIP) and pdf our own matrix (117 KB) .
Read our pdf partnership agreement with educational settings (178 KB) .
What we offer
We offer:
- the use of Success from the Start for babies and young children with a hearing loss
- monitoring the management of effective use of hearing aids or cochlear implants to maximise access to speech
- recommendations on appropriate assistive technology and resources, for example radio aids and soundfield systems
- family sign language curriculum delivered by Sign Language Communication advisors
- direct teaching of specialist skills, for example:
- specific language skills
- advocacy skills
- understanding of hearing needs
- the use of developmental journal for babies and young children with visual impairment
- assessment of need or of specific areas, for example Functional Vision Assessments, IT, Braille literacy
- recommendations on appropriate assistive technology and resources, for example:
- tactile rulers
- screen readers
- magnification software and hardware
- Braille equipment
- direct teaching of specialist skills for children and young people
- collaborative work with Habilitation
- alternative means of communication: learning through touch, large print, Braille, on-body signing, objects of reference
- self- advocacy
- IT skills and effective use of specialist technology
Training and support
We provide bespoke training opportunities to educational settings attended by children and young people with sensory impairment depending on their needs.
We also provide the following training:
- online training courses for teaching assistants
- supporting children and young people with brain related visual difficulties
- training contributions to SENDCO conferences
- training to governors
What teams make up the Sensory Support service.
Who we are
The Sensory Support Service operate under a joint arrangement across four local authorities:
We are committed to providing the best support and advice by ensuring our staff are up to date with new developments and have specialist qualifications and skills to provide the best quality service.
The Head of Service and QTVI is Joao Roe.
Hearing Support Team
The Hearing Support Team consists of a group of:
- Teachers of Deaf (ToDs)
- Educational Audiologist
- Audiology Technician
- Sign Language Communication Advisors (SLCAs)
- Specialist Teaching Assistants (STAs)
- Transition coordinator
The team includes:
- Team Leader and ToD: Sarah Evans
- Hearing Support Coordinators and ToD: Jo McPherson
- Educational Audiologist and ToD: Ann Rayter
We offer advice, support, and training to ensure that children with a hearing loss achieve their potential.
Vision Support Team
The Vision Support Team consists of a group of:
- Qualified Teachers for the Visually Impaired (QTVIs)
- Teacher for children and young people with multi-sensory impairment (MSI teacher)
- Specialist Teaching Assistants and technicians (STAs)
The team includes:
- Team Leader and QTVI: Nathan Meager
- Vision Support Coordinator and QTVI: Helen Maltby
- The Head of Service and QTVI: Joao Roe
Joint authority support for children, families, and schools
We provide advice and support to make sure that all children and young people with sensory impairment have the best opportunities to learn, develop and grow.
Page 9 of 9
- Schools, learning and early years
- School admissions
- School closures
- Find a school
- School term and holiday dates
- Early years and childcare
- Special educational needs and disability
- Education outside mainstream schools
- Free school meals and school travel support
- Adult courses and learning
- Information for young people in Bristol
- Children in care or previously looked after children
- Governing schools and academies
- What the council spends on schools
- Complain about a school