Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of creating a universal model pathway for children and young people with visual impairments who are seeking support.

The department is firmly committed to ensuring that children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including those with visual impairments, receive the support they need to achieve in their early years, at school and college.

We recognise that children with visual impairments have specific needs and, therefore, it is a legal requirement for qualified teachers of classes of pupils who have sensory impairments, to hold the relevant mandatory qualification (MQSI). Providers must be approved by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, to offer these qualifications.

The department intends to develop a new approval process to determine providers of MQSIs from the start of academic year 2023/24. Our aim is to ensure a steady supply of teachers of children with visual, hearing, and multi-sensory impairment, in both specialist and mainstream settings.