A Single Strategy for Sensory Needs - The Highland Council

t was felt that in terms of multi-agency working that there was a lack of clarity of roles and in some cases overlap of roles. The way
forward was seen in:
A better understanding of the key worker and the care manager roles;
The forming and development of a functional vision assessment team, which had reviewing and monitoring roles;
The prioritising of early intervention so that parents are supported as soon as they discover their baby is visually impaired;
Partnership working between Education, Health and Visual Impairment Services Highland with shared assessments at all the
child’s’ milestones. A shared acceptance of the importance of mobility for these children, accessing their curriculum, and
developing their personal and social skills.
In terms of the limited resources available to visually impaired services it was felt that:
There should be a rethinking of the way the voluntary sector, Social Work, Education and Health deliver services to these
young people.
To share, catalogue and pool resources already owned by Education, Health and Social Work.
To have staffing levels appropriate to meet the needs of the population of visually impaired children for their education
and for their independence.
Financing to renew and replace resources.
There is much to accomplish. This attempt to address the issues surrounding the social exclusion of visually impaired children
and young people was an excellent way of bringing together the different facets of the service both those who give provision
and those who receive it. May the initiatives lead to the formation of future strategies that move ever closer to a seamless
service.
Access
Barriers to “Access” are in many ways “invisible” and “unheard” for people with sensory needs. Lack of understanding and
awareness of needs are preventing progress towards equality and inclusion that otherwise remains largely aspirational.
Despite a wealth of documents about equalities and access, user consultation and Best Practice Standards, legislation and
Government Commissions, there remains a widespread impression that people, particularly at strategic levels, who can “hear”
and “see”, fail to grasp what is required in the context of sensory services. Consequently services are often left to the small
batch of “specialists” who may consequently contribute to services remaining out of “mainstream.”
This lack of awareness (whether arrogance, ignorance or a combination of both) seems to be the fundamental reason (and
therefore challenge) why sensory services have struggled to receive sufficient priority recognition.
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