Sensory and Physical Team: Braille policy
Rationale and aim for the Braille policy
- Being proficient in Braille provides an opportunity for Children and Young people (CYP) to access the curriculum and achieve alongside their sighted peers. The advisory teachers use a positive approach that supports a learning to access, access to learning model.
- ATVIs will collaborate with school and settings to create a Braille friendly, high aspirational environment.
- CYP who need to access Braille will typically have a profound vision loss with visual acuities of less than 6/120 Snellen (LogMar 1.32 +) and have the cognitive skills to learn UEB Braille.
- The decision may also be made to teach Braille to CYP with degenerative eye conditions after consultation with parents, CYP, schools and health teams.
Access to the curriculum
Learning outcomes set for the class need to be the same for and fully inclusive of the Child or Young Person, their route to reaching the learning outcomes will require adaptations and modifications to ensure accessibility.
High expectations need to be set based on a CYP’s cognitive ability and not governed by their visual status. This is important in ensuring the CYP is stretched academically, and their potential is maximised.
Braille is a tool used by the CYP to enable access; it should not create a barrier to learning. The CYP may require more time to access Braille/tactile materials, to enable them to process the information and internalise concepts. This is due to the complexity of accessing information through tactile materials and is not connected to their cognitive ability.
The CYP needs the same access to text as sighted CYP experience. The presence of Braille needs to sit inclusively and equally alongside other CYP’s print access.
If the other CYP are requested to read print as part of a task, the CYP needs to have their own Braille version to access the same information at the same time.
All text needs to be adapted into Braille/tactile format according to the CYP’s current level of Braille knowledge.
The CYP’s level of Braille knowledge will continue to develop on an ongoing basis. ATVI will maintain a weekly record of CYP’s developing skills, e.g. reading/writing of the code, knowledge of contractions, will help to chart their progress. This will also ensure everyone involved in the adaptations of the curriculum are aware of the level of Braille to prepare materials in. ATVI will complete a termly report on Braille progress outlining outcomes and provision and this will be distributing to everyone involved with CYP including parents
Spelling tests: CYP needs to spell the words out and present their answers in uncontracted Braille. The CYP can then add contracted Braille versions alongside as he/she learns the code.
(KS1/2) Braille, like print at this stage, needs to be supported by tactile images or real objects or models. Whenever a picture is used to give meaning to add interest to, or support print literacy, it should be considered how the CYP will be given access to this.
It is important for the CYP to have the same opportunity for free independent and spontaneous writing as the other CYP in the class. The Perkins Braille Machine/Braille note and or other assistive technology, along with the CYP’s writing tools and resources need to be set out in the classroom in a location where they can be accessed independently throughout the school day.
Work produced by the CYP will need to be either transcribed by the teaching assistant for marking by the teacher. Alternatively the teacher can access the CYP’s work via print or electronic copy (ATVI to advise on most appropriate method). Additionally, the teacher can ask the CYP to read back work, to check knowledge and understanding of the topic being taught. This encourages the CYP to read their work back. It is also an instant method for the teacher to check the CYP understands, without reliance on someone else to translate what he/she has written.
Listening skills are important to support the CYP to understand the lesson and actions taking place around them, however they should not be relied on as the main way of accessing information, nor should they be a replacement for having information presented in Braille format.
The CYP will need key words displayed on the interactive board presented in Braille format. This will enable the CYP to follow information presented on the interactive board, at the same time, as the other CYP. (The teacher also needs to say what is being written or pointed to on the board to support the CYP’s access.) Provision of the keywords for the CYP to read beforehand would further support this access.
Adapting the curriculum to ensure it is accessible for the CYP takes thought and time. Braille and tactile materials are time consuming to produce. It is also important that the CYP’s access is streamlined to ensure that materials are appropriately adapted to enable them to reach the learning objective with the minimum of access, whilst ensuring maximum opportunity for success. Facilitating this relies on time being made available for the Teaching Assistant to liaise with the class teacher, ATVI and with other staff teaching the CYP. This needs to be on a regular basis and ahead of the week’s curriculum schedule. This will ensure there is time to collect together the resources required and to enable appropriate Braille and tactile adaptations to be completed.
Part two: Developing braille reading and writing skills
Ongoing exposure to the initial letter sounds and developing knowledge of the Braille alphabet, both to read and to write it, will support the CYP’s access in whole class literacy work, ensuring they can take part in phonics work etc.
Formal teaching of the Braille code needs to run alongside the CYP’s participation in the school’s literacy curriculum, which they will access according to the level of Braille reading and writing they have reached at the current time.
- Braille lessons will be planned and taught by ATVI
- Braille sessions will be held twice per week (1 to 2 hours)
An appropriate Braille reading scheme will be used to teach the CYP.
To consolidate the CYP’s’ knowledge and enjoyment of reading, books from the school’s reading scheme can be adapted into Braille. These will need to be adapted according to the level of code they are currently at.
Developing the tactile discrimination skills required to read Braille will be an ongoing and developing skill. The CYP will continue to refine these and learn those required to interpret tactile diagrams and images. This is something that the CYP needs to work on at school through environmental exposure as well as adaptations to class materials.
Organisation of braille
There needs to be a designated space in the classroom where the CYP can keep their equipment and space to use a Perkins Braille Machine and other assistive technology. The CYP needs a quiet environment they can access, if needed, away from the noise and activity of the classroom. Some of the CYP’s focussed Braille work will need to be done in this environment.
To support the CYP’s retrieval of information, they need to develop a high level of organisation skills. This is an important long term skill to develop and commencing and supporting a system of organisation now will help the CYP to store and retrieve information methodically.
- File the CYP’s written Braille responses with the adapted resources that accompany the topic being studied. Keeping all items together that relate to the work done will help their when referring back during editing, review and later on with revision
- Folders stored in the classroom, need to be accessible to the CYP to enable independent retrieval
Braille in the environment
Ensure objects, storage units; folders are labelled with Braille to support the CYP’s independent access. Ensure the CYP knows the items which have been labelled, their location and how they can access them.
Classroom displays should include Braille alongside the print labels. Consider the accessibility of this Braille and try to have it within reach so that it can be read.
DCC Sensory and Physical team has been given permission to create this policy using information taken from Positive Eye: Braille Guidance for Classroom Practitioners: https://positiveeye.co.uk
Next review due Oct 24