Vision 2020 Children and Young People’s Group

Minutes of the meeting held on 21st October 2013 at the RLSB, 11 Belgrave Road, London SW1V 1RB

Present:

Mike Brace (London Borough of Newham, VI Strategy Group)

Gillian Coles (Co- Chair VIEW; Head of Berkshire Sensory Consortium Service)

Jenny Cook (Head of Strategy and Research, Guide Dogs)

John Harris (Head of Research and Public Affairs, RLSB)

Julie Jennings (Manager, Children, Young People and Families, RNIB)

Tom Pey(Chief Executive, RLSB) Chair

Tracie Tappenden (Chief Executive, VICTA)

Mealania Uzila (Business Manager, VISION2020 UK)

Observers:

Paula Spinks Chamberlain (Director of Advisory Services, SeeAbility) and Alister Riedl (Eye Care and Vision Development Officer – Children, SeeAbility).

Apologies

Mary Bairstow, Matt Broom, Anita Lightstone, Chris Lloyd,Lindsey Rousseau,Sue Sharp, Lynn Stow and Mike Bowen.

  1. Welcome

The chair welcomed new members to the group and guests Paula Spinks Chamberlain and Alister Riedl.

  1. Minutes

The Minutes for the meeting of 30.01.13 were approved.

There were no matters arising from the minutes.

Some members of the group were unavoidably delayed and therefore it was agreed that the ‘Guidelines for Putting the UKVision Strategy into Action for CYP’ should be postponed until item 4. Paula Spinks Chamberlain was invited to make her presentation under item 3.

  1. SeeAbility’s work on vision impairment among children in special schools.

SeeAbility has adopted a 5 year strategy with 3 objectives:

Improved sight testing in special schools

Training for staff and parents on eyecare and vision

Transitions for young people with vision impairment

Work is currently underway in 5 schools in London boroughs. Cardiff University will be conducting an evaluation of the project. There are also plans to survey how sight testing is carried out in 1000 special schools in England. An important outcome will be improved coordination between local sensory services, children’s services and education.

In response to the presentation, Gillian Coles referred to current examples of good practice in respect of eyecare for pupils in special schools in Berkshire.

  1. Guidelines for putting the UK Vision Strategy into Action for Children and Young People.

The revised version of this paper, with amendments proposed by the VISION2020 UK Board and Strategic Advisory Group had been previously circulated. The revised paper was approved subject to reinstatement of the term ‘vision impairment’ in linewith advice previously received from VISION2020 UK.

In response to a question from Mike Brace regarding whether the paper in its final form could now be used to assist the implementation of local vision strategies, this was agreed.

Melania Uzila said that she hoped that the revised paper would be available on the VISION2020 UK website within a week of her receiving the final approved version(Action MU).

It was agreed that the final approved version would be circulated to all CYP Group members(Action JH).

Paula Spinks Chamberlain, on behalf of SeeAbility, offered to prepare an Easy Read version of the paper. This was agreed(Action JH/PSC).

  1. Paper by Sue Keil on prevalence of vision impairment among children and young people.

It was agreed that this was an extremely helpful summary of the available evidence on prevalence that should

contribute to ongoing efforts to establish sector wide agreement on this important topic. The CYP Group requested Melania Uzila to convey its endorsement of the paper to VISION 2020UK (Action MU).

Gillian Coles referred to recent guidance issued by NatSip to encourage consistency and transparency among local authorities regarding procedures employed to identify CYP with vision impairment. It was agreed that the CYP Group should review the NatSip guidelines with a view to asking ADSS to support their adoption by local authorities across England(Action GC).

It was agreed circulation of the paper beyond the CYP Group should be postponed pending consultation with Sue Keil regarding her plans for submitting a version of the paper for publication (Action JH).

  1. JSNA guidelines

Julie Jennings had requested that the draft guidelines on information that should be included in local authority Joint Strategic Needs Assessments (JSNAs) should be circulated for comment to members of the CYP Group. The aim is to encourage better quality information on eyehealth and eye care in JSNAs and improved consistency across local authorities. Any members of the group who had not yet responded were asked to do so.

Julie Jennings will find out if it is possible to circulate CYP Group members with a revised version the guidance prior to publication (Action JJ).

It was suggested that the CYP Group should contact ADSSor ADCS with a view to enlisting its help in disseminating these guidelines (Action JC).

  1. Workplan and future arrangements

Tom Pey said that after 2 years as Chair of the CYP Group and having overseen the development of the ‘Guidelines for putting the UK Vision Strategy into Action for Children and Young People’, he would be standing down. He proposed that Jenny Cook be elected to succeed him. This was seconded by Julie Jennings and endorsed unanimously by the group.

Tom reminded the Group that many CYP with vision impairment still experience a range of emotional difficulties, face obstacles to full inclusion and employment and are at risk of lifelong poverty. There was, therefore, still much for the Group to do. He said that although he was standing down as Chair, RLSB would continue to be represented and fully involved. He wished Jenny and the rest of the Group every success in the future.

Julie Jennings, speaking on behalf of the CYP Group, thanked Tom for all his hard work and leadership over the past two years.

It was agreed that an important items for the future included:

  • ensuring that national screening guidelines for CYP were consistently implemented across England
  • developing links with other VISION2020 sub-groups.
  1. AOB
  2. Jenny Cook said that she and others in the sector had been extremely disappointed by the coverage of issues affecting CYP at the last UK Vision Strategy Conference in June 2013. She asked Melania to convey this concern to those responsible for organising the 2014 conference with a request that there should be at least one major speech on children’s services. This was endorsed by other members of the group (Action MU).
  3. Tom Pey informed the group that on November 30th 2013 RLSB would be hosting a conference entitled ‘The Future Exchange’. The event is open to CYP with vision impairment between the ages of 14 and 25 and is being organised in close collaboration with the RLSB Youth Forum. Further information will be circulated to the group (Action JH).
  4. Next meeting

Jenny Cook will circulate possible dates for a meeting in January 2014 (Action JC).