Information for Parents

Who we are

The Sensory Support Service (visual impairment) support children and young people with vision impairments and their families at home, at school or college and in higher education. We are a team of specialist teachers, teaching assistants and a mobility and independence specialist who will work flexibly to ensure your child’s needs are met at home and in education.

Each child we support has different needs and their families need help in varying ways. We understand this and we have the expertise and experience to support you.

Very young children are supported at home and we will work with your family so you have the confidence and advice you need at this time.

We will work with your child’s nursery or school by making sure they have the training and equipment needed to meet your child’s visual needs. We will regularly assess your child’s vision to ensure schools have up to date information.

When children need to learn specialist skills to help them with their vision impairment, like touch-typing, Braille or the use of IT, our teachers and teaching assistants will teach these skills.

Bolton Sensory Support Service work with other agencies to make sure the best outcome is achieved for your child.

The team is involved with pupils and students who have a range vision impairments. This support is available from diagnosis to 25 years of age.

Referral to the Service

Most children are referred to us by the consultants at the eye clinic who will send us their information. Schools sometimes contact us if they have medical information about a child’s vision and they feel they need our advice.

If you are concerned about your child’s vision, please visit your GP and they will advise you.

Specialist Provision in Bolton

Peripatetic support

Our team support mainstream and special schools specifically to ensure they can meet the needs of all children with a vision impairment by visiting regularly to assess the children’s vision and train school staff.

Primary Resourced Provision.

Children with a vision impairment can attend our specialist provision at Sharples Primary School. This is a mainstream primary school with additional resources and qualified staff to meet the needs of children with a severe vision impairment.

Useful links and Resources

Click here to access our Padlet page which contains a wealth of resources to support parents of children with a visual impairment