Physical and/or sensory needs
Deafness ranges from mild to profound.
Most children and young people with hearing loss are identified early, often pre-school. Hearing loss varies widely in its impact on communication and learning. When it is ongoing and significantly affects access and participation, needs may be considered exceptional.
Areas of impact may include:
- Communication and comprehension
- Speech discrimination and intelligibility
- Attention, listening, and concentration
- Social, emotional development and independence
- Curriculum access and attainment
- Peer interaction and behaviour (e.g. withdrawal or frustration)
Support can be offered by a Qualified Teacher of Deaf and educational audiologist/technician.
Children and young people may have a vision impairment present at birth, and some may develop a vision loss during childhood which may be sudden or deteriorate over time. Therefore, children and young people with vision loss are often not identified until they are at school. Sight loss varies in form and impact, and many children and young people with a vision impairment will also have additional needs. Specialist input is based upon functional vision assessments, and focuses on supporting curriculum access, promoting independence and preparing for adulthood.
Having a severe sight impairment as a baby is viewed as a developmental emergency because low vision impacts so many areas. These areas include:
1. Physical development including fine and gross motor skills and hand-eye co-ordination.
2. Concept and language development.
3. Social and emotional learning and friendship skills.
4. Mobility and independence
5. Curriculum access and social inclusion within school.
Children and young people with sight impairment require:
- Real objects and tactile/differentiated materials
- Verbal descriptions and running commentary
- Support with social understanding and friendships
- Development of self-advocacy skills
Support should be provided by Qualified Teacher for children and young people with a Vision Impairment (QTVI) and a children and young people’s Habilitation Specialist and/or sensory advisory service.
Children and young people with vision loss and deafness may be identified early, particularly when symptoms are present at birth or in early development. However, in some cases—such as with conditions like Usher syndrome or Adrenoleukodystrophy—sensory impairments may emerge or progress later in childhood or adolescence, making early identification more challenging. Multi-Sensory Impairment creates a specific range of learning needs beyond those of deaf children and young people or with a vision impairment.
EHC needs assessment may be required when sensory loss significantly affects:
- Information access: Curriculum access, perceptual skills, incidental learning, concept development
- Communication: Receptive/expressive skills, interaction, alternative communication methods
- Orientation and mobility: Movement, independence, community involvement, safety, self-esteem
- Learning progress: Perceptual and cognitive development, behaviour, attention, attainment
Support may include:
- Specialist equipment and teaching
- Adapted materials and environments
- Alternative communication methods
- Mobility and perceptual skills training
Children and young people with physical disabilities may need support to access school environments and learning. Inclusive practice requires adapting tasks and, for wheelchair users, modifying buildings to ensure full access.
Neurodiverse learners may struggle with coordination, motor planning, and two-handed tasks, affecting self-care (e.g. using cutlery, fastenings) and participation in PE and sports involving balance, body awareness, and ball skills.
Ensure all staff are aware of individual CYP sensory/physical disability and implications in all teaching and learning environments.
Identify favourable seating arrangements.
Ensure that if an additional adult is supporting, they understand how to promote independent interactions and only support communication when necessary.
Ensure staff are aware that for some CYP, a sensory or physical disability could impact their language and social interaction.
Collaborate with relevant external professionals and the family to ensure consistent support is provided in different environments.
Ensure staff are aware sensory challenges may also impact physical or motor/movement, and some physical disabilities may also impact cognition.
Encourage CYP to wear appropriate sensory equipment and use physical aids.
Adapt timetables to ensure physical needs are met, e.g., stretch breaks, physiotherapy sessions.
Provide physical activities to support the development of gross motor skills, e.g., throwing, catching, hopping, etc.
Deliver sensory circuits as a structured intervention at useful times of the day to support physical regulation.
Ensure staff ensure that all CYP have understood all instructions
| Identified barriers and/or need: | Provision and/or strategies: approaches, adjustments and specific interventions expected to be made by settings according to the ages and stages of the CYPs. | How well implemented? | When and how? | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Always | Sometimes | Not yet | |||
| Developmental co-ordination difficulties, please also refer to strategies/provisions under cognition and learning |
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| Deafness |
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| Vision impairment |
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| Physical sensitivity |
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| Physical disability |
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| Proprioceptive, vestibular and interoceptive differences |
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Provision and/or strategies:
- Develop the CYP's core stability e.g., wobble cushion, exercises and games
- Ensure appropriate physical resources are available e.g., writing slope, laptop, pencil grips, sloping boards
- Explicit strategies/exercises to develop fine motor skills e.g., hand and arm exercises, specialist scissors, pincher grips etc.
- Provide sequencing and organisational skills e.g., now and next boards, writing frames, visual timetables
How well implemented?
When and how?
Provision and/or strategies:
- Implement professional advice and guidance
- Ensure appropriate technology is available and functioning
- Specific staff training for technology they need to use
- Repetition of instructions/provide a visual to support communication
- Consider seating plans carefully to promote optimal hearing
- Reduce background noise as much as possible
- Plan transitions and use visuals where appropriate to reduce demands on the CYP
- Appropriate training for staff to adapt materials and learning environment to enable independent learning as much as possible.
- Appropriate training for staff to adapt materials and learning environment to promote independent learning and self-advocacy skills.
- Review accessibility plan and ensure that deaf CYPs needs are covered in the adaptations
- Ensure that appropriate exam access arrangements are considered for all assessments to enable CYP to effectively demonstrate their full potential
- Risk assessments are carried out to ensure CYP are safe in the school environment and when on trips
How well implemented?
When and how?
Provision and/or strategies:
- Implement professional advice and guidance
- Materials are enlarged/adjusted to CYP needs and professional advice and guidance
- Ensure range of writing materials are available for the CYP to select the most appropriate for them and the task
- Collaborate with the relevant external professionals and the family so that consistent support is provided in different environments
- Use of IT to enable independent learning as much as possible e.g., reading apps, voice to text dictation
- Appropriate training for staff to adapt materials and learning environment to enable independent learning as much as possible
- Review accessibility plan and ensure CYP with vision impairment are covered in the adaptations
- Ensure that appropriate exam access arrangements are considered for all assessments to enable CYP to effectively demonstrate their full potential
- Risk assessments are carried out to ensure CYP are safe in the school environment and when on trips
How well implemented?
When and how?
Provision and/or strategies:
- Implement professional advice and guidance
- Consult with parent carers to identify potential trigger times and activities
- Appropriate training for staff to adapt materials and learning environment to enable independent learning as much as possible
- Self-regulation intervention and strategies to support the CYP to be able to regulate independently
- Build resilience in new environments using timers to increase tolerance
- Carry out a sensory audit for the CYP to identify possible triggers and problem solve how to reduce the impact of these. Create a sensory profile from this.
- Consider flexible application of the uniform policy to reduce demands on the CYP
- Provide sensory breaks – sensory room if available
How well implemented?
When and how?
Provision and/or strategies:
- Implement professional advice and guidance
- Review accessibility plan and ensure that the CYPs needs are covered in the adaptations
- Ensure that all physical resources are procured e.g., chairs, scissors, laptop, cutlery, standing desk
- Appropriate training for staff to adapt materials and learning environment to enable independent learning as much as possible
- Carefully plan all transitions, risk assessments for trips with transport to meet needs
- Risk assessment of relevant environments
- Consider exam access arrangements for all assessments to enable CYP to demonstrate potential
How well implemented?
When and how?
Provision and/or strategies:
- Implement professional advice and guidance
- Accommodate the CYP's sensory presentation through a shared understanding with staff and other learners
- Use naturally occurring opportunities to support needs e.g., hand out the books, have physical resources/adaptations available e.g., table or wall pushes, stretches
- Use of timers to help CYP regulate and control their sensory needs e.g., 2 minutes of wall pushes
- Support negotiating of space when transitioning to lessons and unstructured times, adapt timetable accordingly
How well implemented?
When and how?
Resources
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