Hearing Impairment & Visual Impairment Support

Awarded Contract Notice for Hearing Impairment & Visual Impairment Support.

Defence Children Services requires a professionally qualified service to meet the needs of pupils with a hearing and/or visual impairment in Defence Children Services Schools and Settings worldwide.

MOD Schools supports pupils who have a range of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, including children with mild to moderate Hearing Impairment (HI) and Visual Impairment (VI). The number of pupils with such needs fluctuates given the mobile nature of the MOD population. There can be as many as 15 such pupils across MOD schools. To meet our organisation's vision, Educate the Child - Support the Family - Defend the Nation", we will be providing support to those children in settings and across global geographical locations. Therefore, during the period of the contract the successful provider must be able to demonstrate a flexible response to variable need across variable locations.

The children, their parents and the staff in schools require professional support and advice from suitably qualified education professionals, i.e., specialist HI or VI qualifications in addition to teaching qualifications. DCS does not employ such specialists due to the low incidence of need and therefore has a requirement to contract in the resource.

The specialist education professionals will be expected to provide regular support, advice and guidance to children/young people with sensory difficulties, their parents and teaching staff as required in the various locations across DCS. The aim is to ensure children/young people with sensory difficulties can access and receive high quality inclusive education alongside their peers, reach their educational potential and are not disadvantaged from their time spent abroad. That support would include direct work with children and parents as well as contribution to planning and review. They would also liaise with any other external agencies the children are involved in such as Speech and Language Therapists.