Teachers of children and young people who are blind or partially sighted, deaf, or deafblind: guidance - consultation

Guidance on appropriate qualifications and teacher competencies for teachers of children and young people who are blind or partially sighted, deaf or deafblind.

Purpose

1. The purpose of this document is to provide non-statutory guidance to education authorities in relation to their duties under The Requirements for Teachers (Scotland) Regulations 2005, on what constitutes appropriate qualifications and teacher competencies for teachers of children and young people who are blind or partially sighted, deaf, or deafblind.

2. This guidance replaces the guidance published in 2007. It is being revised to take account of developments in sensory impairment education, research and policy, and the skills, knowledge and expertise needed to teach children and young people with these specific educational needs.

Background and context

3. The Requirements for Teachers (Scotland) Regulations 2005 (“the 2005 Regulations”) set out the requirements to be met by education authorities in employing teachers in the course of discharging their duties under section 1 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 (“the 1980 Act”), and section 2(1) of the Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc. Act 2000 (“the 2000 Act”).

4. Regulation 3 of the 2005 Regulations sets out the general requirements to be met by education authorities and grant aided schools regarding the employment of teachers. Regulation 4 sets out the requirement to be met by education authorities and grant aided schools to employ only registered teachers. Independent schools must meet the requirements in The Registration of Independent Schools (Prescribed Person) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 with regards to employing teachers.

5. Regulations 5, 6, & 7 of the 2005 Regulations set out the requirements to be met where an education authority employs a teacher to ‘wholly’ or ‘mainly’ teach children or young people who are blind or partially sighted, deaf, or deafblind, then that teacher must possess an appropriate qualification to teach such children or young people.

6. All education authorities are expected to consult this guidance in determining whether a teacher has an appropriate qualification. It is for individual employers to ensure that all registered teachers employed ‘wholly’ or ‘mainly’ to teach children and young people who are blind or partially sighted, deaf, or deafblind hold an appropriate qualification. This is in line with their duty to provide adequate and efficient provision for such additional support as is required by each child or young person with additional support needs for whose education they are responsible under section 4 of the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004.

7. Where an education authority is responsible for the school education of children and young people who are blind or partially sighted, deaf, or deafblind and who are placed in a grant aided or independent school, education authorities must satisfy themselves that those children and young people are taught by teachers who hold the appropriate qualification. This applies to those authorities that contract out services to support children who are blind or partially sighted, deaf, and deafblind.

Defining an appropriate qualification

8. Teachers shall be deemed as holding an appropriate qualification if they are able to demonstrate that they have gained the recommended qualification and teacher competencies, as listed at paragraph 19 and set out in the teacher competencies section of this guidance to meet the needs of the children and young people they teach. These comprise the specialist knowledge, understanding and skills needed for teachers to enable them to teach, advise and support children and young people who are blind or partially sighted, deaf, or deafblind, and who, in many cases, may also have additional complex needs.

9. This guidance recommends that the route to be taken in obtaining an appropriate qualification is through a recognised university-based postgraduate qualification at SCQF 11 Master degree level. This guidance does not define the programme of study which will result in an appropriate qualification but acknowledges that several UK universities offer relevant postgraduate programmes.

10. The appropriate qualification recommended comprises a minimum of 90 credits at SCQF 11 Master degree level learning specific to Visual Impairment Education, Deaf Education or Deafblind Education (gained on a programme which leads to a to a Postgraduate Diploma at 120 credits at SCQF Level 11 in Visual Impairment Education, Deaf Education or Deafblind Education).

11. This guidance emphasises the importance for relevant programmes of study to be provided flexibly, including at a distance, so that there is ready access to training for teachers based in Scotland; and to allow means, where necessary, for prior learning to be accredited to meet these requirements.

Defining who is required to gain an appropriate qualification

12. Where specialist provision is required for children and young people who are blind or partially sighted, deaf, or deafblind it must be provided by teachers who possess an appropriate qualification or are becoming qualified to teach children and young people with these additional support needs. Regulations 5,6 & 7 of the 2005 Regulations provide as follows:

• ‘where, in discharging their functions under section 1 of the 1980 Act and section 2(1) of the 2000 Act, an education authority employs a teacher wholly or mainly to teach hearing impaired pupils that teacher shall possess an appropriate qualification to teach such pupils (regulation 5).’
• ‘where, in discharging their functions under section 1 of the 1980 Act and section 2(1) of the 2000 Act, an education authority employs a teacher wholly or mainly to teach visually impaired pupils that teacher shall possess an appropriate qualification to teach such pupils (regulation 6).’
• ‘where, in discharging their functions under section 1 of the 1980 Act and section 2(1) of the 2000 Act, an education authority employs a teacher wholly or mainly to teach pupils who are both hearing and visually impaired that teacher shall possess an appropriate qualification to teach such pupils (regulation 7).’

13. A teacher who is employed wholly to teach children and young people who are blind or partially sighted, deaf or deafblind spends the entirety of their contracted teaching hours, teaching such children and young persons and is required to hold an appropriate qualification.

14. A teacher who is employed mainly to teach children and young people who are blind or partially sighted, deaf or deafblind spends the majority of their contracted teaching hours, teaching such children and young persons and is required to hold an appropriate qualification.

15. A teacher who mainly teaches children and young people who are blind or partially sighted, deaf, or deafblind may in practice be contracted to deliver teaching in the following examples:

Example 1.

A teacher spends the majority of their contracted teaching hours in education authority A teaching children and young people who are blind or partially sighted, deaf, or deafblind, and spends remaining hours working as a freelance BSL interpreter or tutor, or Braille teacher or translator in education authority A, B & C.

Example 2.

A teacher spends the majority of their contracted teaching hours in education authority A teaching young people who are blind or partially sighted, deaf, or deafblind, and spends remaining hours teaching a specialist subject at secondary level e.g., Maths, or History.

Example 3.

A teacher spends the majority of their contracted teaching hours in education authority A teaching young people who are blind or partially sighted, deaf, or deafblind, and spends remaining hours teaching on a programme of higher education.

16. A teacher who does not hold an appropriate qualification may be employed by an education authority to teach children who are blind or partially sighted, deaf, or deafblind. The education authority must be satisfied that the teacher is in the process of obtaining an appropriate qualification as discussed in detail in paragraph 19 and as set out in the teacher competencies section of this guidance. Regulation 8 of the 2005 Regulations requires that education authorities ensure that teachers employed specifically to teach children who are blind or partially sighted, deaf, or deafblind who do not hold the appropriate qualification are in the process of obtaining such a qualification. The current total period teaching without the qualification should not exceed 5 years. However, it is recommended that the qualification is completed within three years.

Defining appropriate qualifications in terms of competencies

17. The appropriate qualifications are defined in terms of:

1. Being a Teacher in Scotland

2. Professional Knowledge and Understanding

3. Professional Skills and Abilities

These competencies are comprised of specialised knowledge, understanding and skills to enable teachers to operate as effective teachers of children and young people who are blind or partially sighted, deaf, or deafblind, and are complementary to the Professional Standard for Full Registration and the Standard for Career-Long Professional Learning as outlined by the General Teaching Council Scotland (“GTCS”).

18. The qualification focuses on the specialised knowledge, understanding, skills and values needed by teachers to enable them to meet the specific additional learning needs of children and young people aged 0-19 years, arising from their blindness or partial sightedness, deafness, or deafblindness. The starting point is meeting the needs of these children and young people, and acquiring the competencies to do that effectively, and not on defining the structure of specific programmes.

19. The higher education university-based postgraduate programme^[1] chosen for a teacher to obtain such a qualification should be rigorously quality assured, suitable for the Scottish policy context, and be comprised of:

• learning at SCQF 11 Master level
• a minimum of 90 SCQF credits specific to Visual Impairment Education, Deaf Education or Deafblind Education (gained on a programme which leads to a Postgraduate Diploma at 120 SCQF credits in Visual Impairment Education, Deaf Education or Deafblind Education).
• the core teacher competencies.

Teachers obtaining such a qualification in Visual Impairment Education or Deaf Education should also have acquired the following skills:

• Contracted Unified English Braille for teachers of children and young people who are blind or partially sighted.
• British Sign Language (BSL) SCQF Level 3 (BSL Signature Level 1) for teachers of children and young people who are deaf at the point of gaining the appropriate qualification, and SCQF Level 5 in BSL (Signature Level 2 BSL) within the following year.

Acquiring an appropriate qualification

20. The recommended route by which teachers will acquire the necessary competencies is through attending programmes at higher education institutions to meet the minimum of 90 credits at SCQF 11 Master level specific to Visual Impairment Education, Deaf Education or Deafblind Education, gained on a programme which leads to a to a Postgraduate Diploma (120 credits) in Visual Impairment Education, Deaf Education or Deafblind Education.

21. Teachers teaching children and young people who are blind or partially sighted, deaf, or deafblind who do not hold an appropriate qualification should embark on a programme of study to obtain an appropriate qualification. It is recognised that provision should be made for teachers who, for reasons such as service requirements, location, or personal or professional commitments, are unable to attend regular timetabled classes in a specific central location. For such cases, some programmes should be made available through e-learning or distance learning modes with appropriate tutoring support. Whatever mode of teaching is used, teachers will require a regular allocation of time by their employing authority for study, appropriate visits, and a period of teaching practice in a setting different from their own current post. It is recommended that education authorities allocate a minimum of three days of study time per 20 credit course.

Assessment criteria

22. The assessment techniques used, and the criteria applied, where an appropriate qualification is obtained through attendance on a postgraduate diploma programme and the minimum of 90 credits at SCQF 11 Master level is met (specific to Visual Impairment Education, Deaf Education or Deafblind Education), should be governed by the same general principles as are used for other postgraduate diplomas at a level equivalent to that of a (Scottish) Master degree.

Prerequisites to acquiring an appropriate qualification

23. Teachers wishing to embark on a programme of teacher education with a view to acquiring an appropriate qualification must be fully registered with the GTCS. For the duration of the appropriate programme students should be working with children or young people who are blind or partially sighted, deaf, or deafblind depending on the qualification being studied. It is anticipated that most potential students will have had recent experience in working with children and young people with these additional support needs. Where they have not, they may need to undertake a prior programme of familiarisation, including periods in relevant schools / learning providers.

Languages and alternative communication

24. Teachers are required to possess awareness, understanding and a level of competency in the range of language and communication alternatives and augmentative communication aids appropriate to the relevant group of children or young people with whom they work (blind or partially sighted, deaf, or deafblind). The teacher competencies section of this guidance provides details of this requirement, which includes demonstrating an in-depth understanding of the factors to be considered when families and children make language choices, and the ability to support these choices.

25. Education authorities are responsible for ensuring that their teachers’ knowledge and skills remain appropriate in light of changing pupil needs and circumstances. This is a requirement under regulation 3 of the 2005 Regulations and individual teachers have a professional requirement to maintain their Professional Update approved through the GTCS.

Ensuring an adequate breadth of experience for teachers working towards obtaining an appropriate qualification

26. Teachers of children who are blind or partially sighted should be able to read and write Contracted Unified English Braille. Teachers are advised to have learnt Contracted Unified English Braille with a recognised qualification.

27. For teachers of deaf children and young people, authorities should ensure that teachers working with children and young people who use British Sign Language (BSL) gain level SCQF Level 3 in BSL at the point of gaining the appropriate qualification, and SCQF Level 5 in BSL within the following year.

28. The duties in the 2005 Regulations should be approached prospectively in light of the anticipatory nature of the duties in the Equality Act 2010 and the Education (Disability Strategies and Pupils’ Educational Records) (Scotland) Act 2002. The authority must be prepared for the possibility of a child or young person who uses fluent BSL moving into the area. For this reason, it is recommended that each authority ensures it employs a minimum of one teacher of deaf children and young people who has SCQF Level 6 BSL or above.

29. As part of any Higher Education programme of study in sensory impairment education it will be necessary for teachers to demonstrate their acquisition of knowledge, understanding, skills and values in contexts other than with the children and young persons that they normally teach. This could be by working alongside already qualified teachers and/or undertaking a study in an area different from the teacher’s own current practice. Such work would be in addition to having access to video and other live materials which provide the opportunity to view, and critically assess, learning environments and children and young people different from those they normally teach.

Transition period

30. Where a teacher does not hold an appropriate qualification and is in the process of obtaining a qualification, as referred to in regulations 5, 6 or 7 of the 2005 Regulations and set out in detail in paragraph 19 and in the teacher competencies section of this guidance, it is recommended that the qualification is completed within three years. It is recognised that there may be individual cases where, through the nature of personal and employment circumstances, it may be difficult to meet this deadline. In such circumstances, the authority should make reasonable alternative arrangements in line with the 2005 Regulations and guidance.

Next steps

31. All education authorities are expected to consult this guidance in determining whether a teacher has an appropriate qualification. Teachers employed to teach children who are blind or partially sighted, deaf, or deafblind and who hold the appropriate qualification or who are in the process of obtaining such a qualification must continue to meet the GTCS’s Professional Standard for Full Registration and Standard for Career-Long Professional Learning. This guidance will be kept under review and revised as necessary in light of emerging practice and circumstances.