Last week our CEO Eithne, Sara from Angel Eyes NI, Dr Patricia McCarthy, Peter, Shane, Toni from Vision Ireland and Derval from ChildVision met the Education Committee to discuss the changes needed to improve the education system for blind and visually impaired students.
The message was clear: the gaps are real, but so are the solutions. What is needed now is for these supports to be recognised, resourced and embedded within the system so that blind and visually impaired students can access the education they are entitled to.
It was so great to have everyone delivering the same message. Our two witness statements, from Shane and Peter, powerfully endorsed the need for training for all those supporting blind and vision impaired students, the need for TY Lens program which prepares students for senior cycle and beyond to be made mandatory, and Service providers like ChildVision to be allowed used their expertise to provide Summer Provision.