The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education has now finalised the revision of the Vision Rehabilitation Standard.  The webpage below gives a full Occupational Standard alongside a new, fuller, range of Knowledge, Skills and Behaviours and a revised End Point Assessment.  The new higher funding band should allow greater flexibility for delivery and assessment.   RWPN has worked with the Employer Group and course providers to secure this vital route to qualification.

Vision rehabilitation specialist / Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education

This article from The Guardian was published on 11 March and comes out of RNIB's campaign "Out of Sight" on the situation regarding vision rehabilitation services in England.

The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) sent out a FoI request to all local authorities in England late in 2023.  They want to understand the state of vision rehabilitation provision in England and respond accordingly.  RNIB received responses from 140 (out of 155).   RNIB will be publishing the findings in March or April.  however, we do know that 26% of respondent local authorities had unfilled vacancies for Vision Rehabilitation Specialist posts.  This is clearly an unsustainable state of affairs and we will be working with RNIB and partner organisations to address this.

The charity Living Streets has now published its research report into Continuous Footways.  It is a complex subject with no simple solutions. However, navigating these interfaces between road traffic and pedestrians is becoming part of our O&M experience.  The report looks at solutions to making Continuous Footways work for all parties.

For more information about Living Streets and other projects click here

RWPN is one of the partner organisations that has been actively working with RNIB over the last two years to produce this pathway.   The pathway provides a framework for how people experiencing sight loss should be receiving services from initial diagnosis to timely access to rehabilitation and living well after sight loss.    This report should be shown to commissioners and managers to explain what the work we do as specialists is so vital.

Work is underway to produce an equivalent pathway for children and young people.  Read the document here.

RNIB, Guide Dogs and many others are encouraging blind and partially sighted people to join the consultation on these proposed closures.  We share their opposition to these proposals.  Read RNIB's statement here.

An interesting article from Disability News Service

 https://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/concerns-over-growing-number-of-dangerous-and-discriminatory-road-layouts/

In March we were delighted to see the restart of the Graduate Diploma in Low Vision Rehabilitation at Glasgow Caledonian University.  20 students from across Scotland have enrolled. This much-needed boost for the workforce in Scotland has come about with the hard work of a consortium of organisations: The Alliance, Visibility Scotland, Sight Scotland, RNIB, RWPN and Glasgow Caledonian University.   We are all very grateful to The Alliance and Thomas Pocklington Trust for their significant support to subsidise the fees for students.  We hope this is the start of further learning opportunities and professional development around sensory loss in Scotland.

We wish the students and the mentors all the best.

Bus stop by-passes (also called "floating bus stops"), which are usually sited on cycle super-highways, can cause a significant barrier for blind and partially sighed people. Crossing a busy bike lane at the designated points to reach these bus stops can be frightening and potentially dangerous.   We are currently developing work to devise ways of teaching techniques and approaches that could reduce the risks for vision impaired pedestrians.  If you are a practicing vision rehabilitation or habilitation specialist and you would like to join these discussions, please contact RWPN.

ADASS members are the employers representing the largest single body of Vision Rehabilitation and Habilitation Specialists in England.  Their endorsement of our register as best practice is a welcome reminder to employers that they should ensure their vision specialists are safeguarding their clients by being registered. ADASS Vision Rehabilitation registration Position Statement Autumn 2022.docx.pdf