Supporting Blind and Partially Sighted Adult Learners: Jeff’s Story

As a Further Education professional, being approached by a blind or partially sighted adult learner, might be daunting. An adult learner in Further Education is anyone over the age of 19, or 25 with an Education Healthcare Plan (EHCP), at the point of enrolment.

We sat down with a blind adult learner, Jeff, who contacted our Education Advice Service for help in implementing support at college. We felt Jeff’s time at college would set the scene perfectly to guide you on how to support learners like him. This is Jeff’s story.

“My name is Jeff Bashton. I enrolled on my course GCSE Maths foundation tier when I was 76. I have been blind since birth and I have no perception of light. I’ve been a practitioner, manager and adviser in social care as well as the visual impairment advisor at the OU (Open University). I have a master’s degree in Applied Social Studies, and professional qualifications in Social Work, Management Studies (local government).”

“Continuing my education was important because I didn’t have a maths qualification, I really wanted to take maths to validate myself. I realised if I was to enter university today, I would need a basic maths qualification. I was also quite intrigued about what I would learn, and to develop a more mathematical way of thinking.”

Initial Assessment 

Jeff applied to college in January 2024, but he wasn’t accepted until July. “I had to go through quite a level of assessment before the college were eventually persuaded to let me enrol.” 

“I had to take a BSQB basic skills builder in English and maths that wasn’t accessible.” BSQB is a tool for measuring and building skills such as communication and creative problem solving. “I got some sighted assistance as operation of the mouse was required to move from question to question. It wasn’t accessible. BSQB informed me feedback had to come from the college.”

BSQB advise “We take an inclusive-first approach, but we also know some individuals require additional levels of support and reasonable adjustments to facilitate inclusive learning.” It’s important not to rely on digital platforms for assessing the skills or knowledge of a blind or partially sighted adult learner. Some learners may not know how to access digital spaces independently whereas others like Jeff could face access barriers. An inclusive first step would be an assessment of need to understand howe to make your course accessible. If a learner’s normal way of working is independent study, that needs to be supported. This could include providing or sourcing technology training. 

Jeff’s college took this approach when assessing his subject specific knowledge. “The college wanted me to do a previous exam paper just to gauge where I was at. They got quite a few papers for me in Braille with appropriate tactile diagrams.” You may find this surprising as Jeff’s college said, they’d “never had a totally blind student.” So how did they do it?

Working Together 

Jeff’s college had an expert in-house, Jeff himself! He was aware that his college would need a hand. “I knew my vision impairment would be an issue because I was doing a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) subject. It’s going to be slightly more challenging than a text-based subject.”

“I know quite a bit about graphs, having worked at the OU and being a keen advocate for tactile diagrams. I had sufficient background to know the approaches that would work.” This wasn’t about Jeff implementing support for himself. it was about supporting a college who didn’t know where to start. Jeff’s college, instead of consulting him on the approaches that would work, presumed the level of support he’d need.

“It would have helped if the SENCo (Special Educational Needs Coordinator) had been honest and admitted to needing help. I felt he was rather tied to his approach that I needed a support worker. I didn’t think a support worker would add anything and was just a nice to have.  

The college did provide a weekly 1:1 session for me as they realised that the standard weekly class was not fully accessible.” 

When asked what a college should do, Jeff said “ask, ‘How do you think we should tackle this, Jeff? What do you think we should do? I’m the expert. And I could have saved them time.” Delays in planning around Jeff disadvantaged him. “because they hadn’t got certain things in Braille, they wouldn’t let me start at the beginning of the course.”  “I missed time to integrate into the group. It was a bit isolating.”

Modifying Resources 

Knowing what to do is only part of the equation. Knowing how to implement support comes next.

For Jeff as a Braille user approaching a GCSE qualification, this meant modifying his learning resources ahead of time. “I asked for PowerPoint slides to be accessible. They were sent to me in Word and I embossed those.” “I brought some geometry drawing materials the tutor could use.”

Whilst specialist input will be needed for the creation of some physical resources like braille, alternative digital formats, and physical equipment can still be created in-house or readily outsourced.

Specialist Support 

Jeff’s college were concerned about funding restrictions based on the presumption Jeff would need three hours with a support worker each week. What Jeff told us he needed was his resources modified to an accessible standard on a weekly basis.

“Yes, they could send stuff away for transcription, but that would only get them so far because they were doing a bit week by week. “They needed a small local resource whereby they could produce diagrams. They could have done this. There was a nearby school that had a micro capsule machine with swell paper.” Trying to save costs by attempting to deliver all support in-house isn’t economical in the long-term and impacts the student. “When I was given the homework, other people already had the text. Some of my diagrams were described but I couldn’t understand them. I needed a tactile physical copy to correctly appreciate the relationships the diagrams were demonstrating.”

Specialists we advise colleges to seek advice or procure from include: 

• The local authority’s vision impairment/Sensory service. 
• The local sight loss society.
• Guide Dogs. “As part of my preparation for college I knew I had to arrange some mobility (travel) training. I was able to utilise the services of a guide dog mobility specialist. Thus I learned the route from the college entrance to my class.” 
• A professional like a QTVI (Qualified Teacher for the Visually Impaired) for one off or termly support or advice.

When thinking on how to use the Learning Support budget for a blind or partially sighted adult learner, stick to what the student needs, and don’t be afraid to venture externally for advice and support.

Reflections 

Jeff said a highlight of his college experience was how “exam arrangements worked extremely well and were very flexible. They accepted double time. We had a practise exam, and I used a scribe.”  “The college had, for all students, a collection of past questions on topics like algebra, fractions etc and I had these in Braille. These helped when revising.”

“I got a Grade 5 so I got the highest possible pass at foundation level, so I must have made an effort.”

Jeff noted “Credit to the college. I don’t want it to be seen as all negative as they were very keen to support me once we got over the initial hurdles.” 

What You Need to Do 

From our conversation with Jeff, we put together these top tips: 

1. Ensure digital systems and platforms are accessible from the start. “I think it’s really about colleges accepting accessibility is important.” 
2. Carry out a needs assessment to establish support. “Even if you have the life experience, it’s still difficult because you want to work together. Building a partnership is, recognising the challenges, accepting the challenges, and discussing how you might get over them. Meet them where they are at in that moment.” 
3. Preparation is king. “One always has to be aware of time, particularly if you’re doing an exam because if the course starts in September and you don’t get things sorted out by December/January, then you’ve missed too much of the year.” 
4. Work collaboratively across the college. “I felt the college worked too much in silo. It was the maths department who offered the SENCO to do the special arrangements rather than a meeting of minds.”  
5. Understand adult learners may need additional technological support. “Adult learners need to make sure they have the skills they need. Keyboard skills, Braille skills, etc. They’re there to learn the subject so their skills need to be up to scratch to use them effectively in learning the subject.”

Next Steps 

Reflect on your key learnings from Jeff’s story and how you can implement those into practise at your college. Familiarise yourself with our Guide for blind and partially sighted adult learners to understand what those learners should expect from you.

Contact our Education Information Advice and Guidance Service before your adult learner joins you if you are unsure where to begin or how to implement support.

You can also access our comprehensive online resources for Further Education professionals here.