To ask the Minister of Education how the Education Authority Sensory Service supports schools with visually impaired learners to implement and embed the Curriculum Framework for Children and Young People with a Visual Impairment.

The Education Authority’s (EA) Sensory Service Qualified Teachers for Vision Impairment (QTVIs) and Qualified Habilitation Specialists (QHSs) (commissioned from Guide Dogs NI) work collaboratively to provide the additional support outlined in the Curriculum Framework for Children and Young People with a Visual Impairment (CFVI) to enable children and young people to gain the additional skills they need to access the curriculum with increasing independence. The CFVI is deemed an effective tool in assisting schools to support pupils with vision impairment.

The EA’s Sensory Service is represented on the four nations steering group for the CFVI and the Service’s QTVIs contribute resources to the central resource bank linked to the CFVI.