SEND Reform: Don’t Leave Blind and Partially Sighted Students Out of Sight

On 23 February 2026, the government published the Schools White Paper, Every Child Achieving and Thriving, alongside the consultation SEND Reform: Putting Children and Young People First. Together, these proposals signal significant change and set out an ambition for a more inclusive mainstream education system.

At Thomas Pocklington Trust, we share the ambition for a system that delivers earlier support, strengthens inclusion in mainstream settings, and improves transitions for children and young people with SEND.

These reforms present an important opportunity to deliver an inclusive system. For Blind and Partially Sighted children and young people they will only succeed if low-incidence needs are explicitly recognised. 

Together with RNIB and VICTA we have hosted focus group discussions with students, professionals and parents/carers. Thank you to those who attended. The insights gathered informed our consultation response and recommendations. 

You can read our response here: What We Have to Say – Thomas Pocklington Trust

We are calling for: 

1. Explicit inclusion of Vision Impairment (VI) across the system, including layers of support and National Inclusion Standards, with the Curriculum Framework for children and young people with vision impairment (CFVI) embedded in national policy and practice. 
2. Guaranteed access to specialist vision impairment support from 0–25 age group, ensuring all blind and partially sighted children and young people receive input from Qualified Teachers for Children and Young People with a vision Impairment (QTVIs) and habilitation specialists from diagnosis, without dependency on an Education, Health and Care Plam (EHCP) or placement type.  
3. A funded workforce strategy to recruit, train and retain QTVIs and habilitation officers, with clarity on how “Experts at Hand” will strengthen sensory services and maintain direct specialist delivery.  
4. Strong safeguards and transparency on funding reform, particularly where funding is redistributed into mainstream settings, to protect centrally delivered vision impairment services.  
5. Clear definition of complex needs, ensuring vision impairment access requirements are not read as complexity or used to delay support.  
6. Action to address post-16 inequalities, where evidence shows inconsistent access to QTVIs for Further Education settings 
7. Robust accountability that does not weaken children and young people’s rights. The reforms must place clear, enforceable legal responsibilities on both education settings and local authorities to deliver.  

Centring Lived Experience

At the heart of this work are the voices of blind and partially sighted young people themselves. As part of our Out of Sight campaign, students have shared their experiences directly, highlighting the realities behind the policy.

Watch their stories:

Alex

Tom

Zehra

These films show both the barriers young people face and the difference that the right support can make. 

We continue to work constructively with the Department for Education and sector partners to ensure that blind and partially sighted students are fully considered as the proposals develop.