SSC Bulletin: February 2018
Sharing information with everyone who is involved in the education of deaf children, deafblind children and visually impaired children and young people, the young people themselves and their families.
SSC News
New Project - Telling it like it is: families living on a low income with deaf children
Rachel O’Neill has just started work on this new project funded by NDCS. The team would like to find out the views of parents of deaf children living on a low income relating to the information and support they have received. Interviews will take place during Spring 2018.
If you know of any families who would be interested in taking part, please contact Theresa Monaghan: v1tmonag@exseed.ed.ac.uk
Conference 2019: Physical Activity and Individuals with Visual Impairments or Deafblindness
The SSC is currently planning our next conference which will take place next year: Thursday, 9th - Sunday, 12th May 2019 in Edinburgh. We are excited to announce that our Keynote speaker will be Erik Weihenmayer, who was the first blind person to climb and reach the summit of Mount Everest in 2001. Please save that weekend in your forward-planner and look out for more information.
Regional Improvement Collaboratives
The end of last year saw the creation of the 6 Regional Improvement Collaboratives (RIC) in Scotland. The new initiative will see the following local authorities working more closely together. SSC is looking forward to helping collaboratives to improve services for children who are deaf and children with visual impairment.
- Forth Valley & West Lothian Collaborative: Clackmannanshire, Falkirk, Stirling, West Lothian
- The Northern Alliance: Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Argyll & Bute, Eilean Siar, Highland, Moray, Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands
- South East Alliance: Edinburgh City, East Lothian, Fife, Midlothian, Scottish Borders
- South West Collaborative: East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, Dumfries & Galloway
- The Tayside Collaborative: Angus, Dundee City, Perth & Kinross
- The West Partnership: East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow City, Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire, West Dunbartonshire
Scottish Government Consultations
Having just submitted our response to the Empowering Schools consultation on the provisions of the Education (Scotland) Bill, we are facing another deadline for the Consultation on Excellence and Equity for all: Guidance on the Presumption of Mainstreaming on 9th February 2018. Our submissions will be publicly available, the related papers are very interesting, find out more ...
Where Next?
SSC is a national centre funded by the Scottish Government (Learning Directorate, Support and Wellbeing) based at the University of Edinburgh.
SSC Courses
Coming up ...
- Tuesday, 6th February 2018 - Twilight Networking Opportunity for Teachers of the Deaf and Teachers of the Visually Impaired (Edinburgh)
- Tuesday, 13th February 2018 - Masterclass: The Sensory Curriculum for very Special Learners: Past, Present and Future Flo Longhorn
- Monday, 19th March 2018 - Habilitation Awareness - Details to follow
- Monday, 23rd April 2018 - The Accidental Counsellor: supporting others in additional support needs work
- Tuesday, 1st May 2018 - Deafness, spoken language acquisition and learning English as an Additional Language (EAL)
- Tuesday, 1st May 2018 - Impact of Music Therapy when working with children with complex needs - Details to follow
Keep checking the full list on the website for forthcoming 2018 courses: http://www.ssc.education.ed.ac.uk/courses/list.html
SSC Unified English Braille Competency Courses
- Uncontracted Braille Competency (Grade 1)
- Contracted Braille Competency (Grade 2)
Applications are being accepted for 2018-19 beginning on 1st April 2018
Contracted Braille applications are being accepted for 1st April 2018, please submit your applications by 28/02/18. NB: no increase in course fees for 2018-19. The duration of this distance learning course is 18 months and the course runs continuously throughout this period - holidays are not factored into the timetable. Further information, application form and fees can be found at:
http://www.ssc.education.ed.ac.uk/courses/braille.html
Other News
Doorway Online Text Type
Do you use this touch typing tutor with your children? In order to secure funding for a new multi-platform version of this free resource, the developers urgently need to find out how many currently use this program.
We need to know how many children in each local authority use Doorway Text Type 2. Larger authorities may need to co-ordinate their response.
http://www.doorwayonline.org.uk/
Contact: philip.whittaker@doorwayonline.org.uk
SCoD Connect & Collaborate Conference
This year’s Scottish Council on Deafness (SCoD) Connect & Collaborate Conference will take place on Thursday 8th March 2018 in Glasgow. The main theme for the conference is Integration, Inclusion & Well-Being.
http://www.scod.org.uk/scod-connect-and-collaborate-conference-2018/
- SCoD have moved, details are available on their website. http://www.scod.org.uk/contact-us/
International Leo Youth Camp for the Blind: August 2018
The Leo Organization is the Youth organization of Lions International, young people between the age of 16 and 30, organising social activities all around the world.
The International Leo Youth Camp has been organised by Leo volunteers from Northern Germany over the past 20 years. There is an opportunity for 20 blind and sight impaired young adults from all over Europe to attend a 2 week camp based in an accessible youth hostel by the Baltic Sea in Germany. The camp includes activities (e.g. riding, climbing and car driving) all over northern Germany.
For further information (Facebook page) https://www.facebook.com/blindencamp/
Anyone who is interested should email for application forms: blindencamp@leo-club-luebeck.de
Web and Resources News
Web
In October 2018, we were very excited to welcome Chrissie Butler to the SSC who talked about her approaches to inclusion for all but particularly children with sensory impairments and her passion for Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Chrissie sent us a load of links to follow up. As a result we have a rather good set of information on UDL for those who are interested. We have recorded the session and the videos should be ready soon.
Library
The SSC library is open to anyone who has an interest in children with visual impairment or who are deaf, we can send materials to anywhere in the UK.
Tip: Remember to check the journal articles database when searching for information.
New library items are available to browse on the website: http://www.ssc.education.ed.ac.uk/library/list.html
All of these items and many more are available from the SSC Library contact Sheila Mackenzie (0131 651 6069 or sheila.mackenzie@ed.ac.uk)
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Scottish Sensory Centre, Moray House School of Education, University of Edinburgh, Holyrood Road, Edinburgh EH8 8AQ http://www.ssc.education.ed.ac.uk/