Curriculum Framework for Children and Young People with Vision Impairment (CFVI)

RNC has welcomed the introduction of The Curriculum Framework for Children and Young People with Vision Impairment (CFVI), which has been developed by the University of Birmingham’s Vision Impairment Centre for Teaching and Research (VICTAR) , alongside the RNIB , the Thomas Pocklington Trust, and VIEW.

Until the launch of this framework in March 2022 there had been no universally recognised specialist framework for children and young people with vision impairment in the UK context. The CFVI has been built on extensive research regarding educational experiences of young people with visual impairments. This approach is clearly aligned to RNC’s curriculum framework.

VICTAR says:

The CFVI has been developed to support children and young people with vision impairment access an appropriate and equitable education. The framework presents outcomes within 11 teaching areas. It provides a vocabulary to be used by children and young people, their families and professionals in the UK who work with them.

The aims of the framework are:

• To help clarify and define the elements of specialist skill development, interventions and best practice support that are considered to be essential for children and young people with vision impairment;
• To assist qualified specialist practitioners in raising the awareness amongst other professionals and parents, of the need for children and young people with vision impairment to be taught skills that enable them to access the curriculum and the wider world with as much independence as possible; and
• To aid discussions and understanding amongst all involved in a child / young person’s education of how and when these skills should be taught by suitably qualified specialists and reinforced by non-specialists.’