Workshops – Friday programme
In Februrary, delegates will be emailed a form so you can choose two workshops to tailor your experience to your professional objectives.
The Spirit of Braille. LOOK UK
- Sharing the need for Braille skills from the perspective of people with Lived Experience.
- Why we need our Specialist Teaching Teams to have Braille skills.
- A consideration of Braille for the Future, how Braille can impact and aid adult life and independence.
Struggling Readers – Strategies and Resources – Jean Weiss, Vision Impairment Team Lead, Berkshire Sensory Consortium Service
- Many children with a vision impairment struggle to develop literacy skills. I will highlight a range of causes of these difficulties and corresponding ideas to support children’s literacy from preschool to secondary age.
- Exploring literacy development for Braille users, large print users and dual media learners.
- A session packed with strategies and resource ideas to take away.
Early Communication – Development, Skills and Strategies – Anne Cheesbrough (SENSE) and Caireen Sutherland (Programme Lead & Senior Lecturer MQ MSI, Seashell)
- This workshop will look at the development of early communication skills in children with VI and complex needs or MSI. It will cover some theory but will predominantly focus on real life examples, practical strategies and considerations in this area.
- We will consider your role and how you can support and how this work is fundamental to the development of more formal methods of communication such as on body signing, tactile learning etc.
‘Learning Through Play – Pre braille skills with LEGO Braille Bricks’ – Joanne Hogg UK, Lego Braille Ambassador, QTVI and Co-Team Lead Sheffield Vision Support Service.
- At this workshop you will discover the benefits of using a play based approach to developing pre braille skills.
- You will learn the principles of learning through play and develop confidence in creating your own teaching activities.
CFVI: Working with Area interventions: Linda James, QTVI Advisor, CFVI Project, RNIB
- This will be a practical, collaborative workshop exploring a range of interventions across the 11 CFVI Areas. We will aim as a group to exemplify at least one intervention per area and share strategies and resources that might support them. Information shared as part of the workshop will be correlated and shared with workshop participants. The model used in the workshop may be useful to use with colleagues in your setting as you further embed the CFVI and continue to establish a shared understanding.
Introduction to keyboard and screen reader skills for SSI learners using a Windows computer: Rupert Ephithite, QTVI, Virtual School Sensory Support, Norfolk.
- This workshop covers the importance of keyboard navigation and screen reader skills for SSI students. It will focus on specialist staff developing a systematic approach to teaching life-long technology skills. This session is aimed at beginners, but all are welcome! It will include practical skills as well as discussion and sharing of best practice. Please bring along your laptops (and earphones!) to get fully involved.