Info and Advice Day: Supporting Children with Sensory Or Complex Needs

Info and advice day: supporting children with sensory or complex needs

Do you support or care for a child or young person who is blind or partially sighted and/or who has multiple disabilities and complex health needs?

Come along to our day of information, advice and professional development:

 Exhibition of products and services  Networking opportunities  Seminars and workshops

Monday 23 June 2014 10am – 4pm At RNIB Pears Centre for Specialist Learning, Wheelwright Lane, Ash Green, Coventry CV7 9RA

Who should attend?  Professionals supporting children and young people who are blind or partially sighted and/or have multiple disabilities and complex needs.  Parents, carers and family members of children and young people who are blind or partially sighted and/or have multiple disabilities and complex needs.

Free to attend exhibition and networking. Day of seminars costs £50 for professionals and £25 for parent/carers (lunch included in price).

Read on for seminar outlines, list of exhibitors, provider showcase and how to reserve your place.

Logos: RNIB Pears Centre for Specialist Learning, Research Charter Mark, Inclusion Quality Mark, SEN Specialist School, Ofsted Outstanding School 2012/2013, Ofsted Outstanding Children's Home 2012/2013 Registered charity number 226227 Seminars and workshops Delegates wishing to attend our day of seminars are able to attend one session in the morning and one in the afternoon. Choices are outlined below.

Morning session 10.15am – 12.15pm

A) Children and Families Act 2014: what changes will there be? Julie Jennings, Manager Children, Young People and Families, Evidence and Service Impact, RNIB In this session, participants will hear about the Children and Families Act and how it will be put into practice through the SEND Code of Practice. There will be opportunities to raise issues and share in discussion on what it will mean for children and young people, parent carers and professionals. We will cover:  background to the Children and Families Act  key principles  key components  implications for education, health and social care  implications for parents  implementation from September 2014. Who should attend?  Education professionals in mainstream and special schools, including teachers and teaching assistants  Care professionals supporting children and young people with vision impairment, including those with additional complex needs  Health professionals including therapists and learning disability nurses.  Parents and carers.

B) Understanding your child’s sensory needs Becky Darnton and Ann Huc, Occupational Therapists, Links Therapy This seminar will provide an introduction to sensory processing and how difficulties in this area impact on children and young people with learning disabilities and complex needs. The session will look at “see behaviours, think sensory” and give an opportunity to think about what a young person’s behaviours are saying about what is going on in their sensory system. Who should attend? This session will be helpful for anyone wanting to know more about sensory processing.

C) Introduction to creating a multi-sensory communication environment Julia Hampson, Speech and Language Therapist, RNIB Pears Centre for Specialist Learning This 1.5 hour seminar will look at the importance of providing a Communication Friendly Environment to support communication with children and young people with learning needs. There will be a focus on providing multi-sensory cues for people with visual impairment, in particular Objects of Reference, and the range of cues which can make up a Multi-sensory communication environment. Who should attend? All people involved with blind and partially sighted children with complex needs or multi-sensory impairment. May also be useful to people working with pre-school children who are blind or partially sighted.

D) Supporting a visually impaired student: theory, tips and technology Emily Hopkins-Hayes, Head Teacher, supported by Estelle Sismey, Outreach Team Leader and Lynn Donovan, Senior Teaching Assistant, RNIB Pears Centre for Specialist Learning In this two-hour session, participants will gain an introduction into some of the barriers to learning for children and young people who are blind or partially sighted, and some of the things to consider for those supporting them. The session will also give participants a practical opportunity to explore some of the technologies that are available to assist young people with visual impairments. Who should attend? Education professionals in mainstream and special schools, including teachers and teaching assistants; parents and carers.

E) Introduction to Functional Vision Assessments for children and young people with complex needs Sharon O’Leary, Habilitation Specialist and Maria Williams, Qualified Teacher of the Visually Impaired, RNIB Pears Centre for Specialist Learning This workshop will outline various eye conditions which can cause visual impairment and the signs to look for. We will offer brief guidance on making observations to understand how sight loss may be impacting on a child's day to day life and what to do next. We'll consider practical things you can do to help with everyday living. There will also be the opportunity to participate in practical activities wearing glasses that simulate different eye conditions, to gain some understanding of the difficulties that blind and partially sighted people face. Who should attend? This workshop will be helpful for anyone wanting to know more about visual impairment in children with complex needs.

Afternoon session 1-3pm

F) Storytelling for children and young people with visual impairments (VI) and/or complex needs Angela Farrell Deputy Head Teacher and Sue McNeill Senior Teaching Assistant, RNIB Pears Centre for Specialist Learning

In this workshop we will share our approach to storytelling and explore practical ideas for ensuring high engagement and effective learning. Resources and ideas will be shared and delegates will be given the opportunity to create their own VI / complex needs friendly story.

Who should attend? This session will be helpful for anyone who wants to deliver a VI / complex needs friendly story either in an educational or home setting.

G) Load2Learn - an invaluable resource! Jennie Short, Reading Services Product Manager, Load2Learn and Alison Long, Reading Services Senior Manager, Learning and Braille, RNIB. "Load2Learn has become an invaluable resource for our visually impaired learners, our service and the schools we support. It's difficult to imagine life without it now!" Specialist Advisory Teacher, Hertfordshire. Load2Learn provides over 6,000 accessible textbooks and images for print-disabled learners, content grows daily and membership is free for UK schools. Learn how to set up your organisation's membership, search and request books, easily modify Word documents and upload your own resources. In this one-hour session, discover how Load2Learn can save you time and change the learning experience for your learners. Who should attend?  Education professionals in mainstream and special schools, including teachers and teaching assistants  Sensory Support Teams producing accessible materials for learners  Parents and carers.

H) Combining Sensory Processing with TEACCH to help children and young people with complex needs Becky Darnton and Ann Huc, Occupational Therapists, Links Therapy

This session will provide an introduction to Structured Teaching based on TEACCH principles and how these principles and strategies can help children and young people with learning disabilities to feel safe. It will then combine the core principles of sensory processing and TEACCH to look at some realistic applicable strategies for the classroom and school environment.

Who should attend? This session will be useful for education professionals in mainstream and special schools including teachers and assistants, also health professionals supporting children and young people with ASD and or learning disabilities. Prior knowledge of sensory processing would be advisable (ie building on morning session B).

I) Interacting, sharing and engaging – enjoying and developing communication with children at the early stages Julia Hampson, Speech and Language Therapist, RNIB Pears Centre for Specialist Learning and Sue Owen, Speech and Language Therapist, Links Therapy

This seminar will look at the communication needs of children at the early stages of interacting and communicating with others. We will look at the basic elements of pre-verbal communication that are so important in developing the skills of interacting, engaging with others and sharing an activity. Approaches such as Intensive Interaction, Hanen and Parent Child Interaction Therapy will be discussed to identify the benefits. Videos will be used to show how sharing time together and responding to non-verbal signals can be fun and fulfilling to both parties.

Who should attend? This session will be helpful for anyone wanting to know more about developing early interaction skills. Parents and carers may find they want to explore this area more with their own child and we would be willing to help in providing sign-posting to further training. Exhibition Organisations and services exhibiting at our Info and advice day include:  Action for Blind People  Battens Disease Family Association  Embody Dance  Family Fund  Home From Home Care  Links Therapy  Load2Learn  Moppetry  Queen Alexandra College  Penderels Trust  RNIB  RNIB College Loughborough  RNIB Pears Centre for Specialist Learning  Sensory Direct  Sensory Guru  Smirthwaite  Take-a-Break Warwickshire  The Royal National College for the Blind, Hereford

Provider showcase The day will include two free sessions of short talks and demonstrations from selected exhibitors giving an overview of their services and products.

Register your place today! Please register your place by Wednesday 18 June so that we have an idea of numbers. Visit our website www.rnib.org.uk/pearscentre to download our delegate registration form. Return your completed form to us by:  Emailing it to [email protected]  Faxing it to 024 7636 9501  Posting it to Sophie Edge, RNIB Pears Centre for Specialist Learning, Wheelwright Lane, Ash Green, Coventry CV7 9RA Thank you - we look forward to welcoming you soon.