A Single Strategy for Sensory Needs - The Highland Council

Appendix 4 Overview of Current Services
There is a wide range of services currently operating across the Highlands.
The following gives an overview of what these services deliver to the public.
Highland Education Vision Support Service
(H.E.V.S.S)
HEVSS is a peripatetic, teaching and advisory, educational support service
for children with a visual impairment (VI) and their families throughout the
Highland area. In its present form it started in August 1999 and has been
developed since.
HEVSS is typically dealing with 120-140 children at any time and delivering its
service to wherever it is required: at home, in local playgroups or nurseries, in
primary, secondary and special schools. It has a legal obligation to work with
children from 2 years of age to school leaving age but can be involved with
younger children if requested. The service required a staffing ratio of one
teacher to 40 pupils.
Referrals are made to HEVSS from a wide variety of sources including,
parents, schools and paediatricians. The natural starting point for referrals is
from the Paediatric Ophthalmologist (Raigmore Hospital) soon after birth
and then from Highland Society for Blind People after the child reaches 2
years of age. The general procedure after any new referral would be to
contact parents and school if appropriate, to assess the child’s functional
vision for learning in the home and at school (after having received a clinical assessment from the hospital)
and to draw up and support any education programme required.
The nature of the service offered varies however, depending on the age of the child.
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0 – 2 years These young children are initially supported by visual Impairment Services Highland (VISH) who
are a division of Highland Society for Blind People. Their Children’s Officer refers any new VI child to HEVSS
(Education) so that it is aware of them from an early age.