Parents, Carers and Professionals Day 18th March 2026

This year our Parents and Professionals Day focused on early years bringing together the BSCS team, parents and a range of professionals from across the six Berkshire Local Authorities. So why Early Years? Well, as parents and professionals, we are aware of how crucial building strong foundations are in the early years for a child’s future, development and success. The experiences and learning opportunities provided during this period we know have a profound impact on a child’s overall development, social skills, and emotional well-being.

This year our Parents and Professionals Day focused on early years bringing together the BSCS team, parents and a range of professionals from across the six Berkshire Local Authorities. So why Early Years? Well, as parents and professionals, we are aware of how crucial building strong foundations are in the early years for a child’s future, development and success. The experiences and learning opportunities provided during this period we know have a profound impact on a child’s overall development, social skills, and emotional well-being.

The day started with hearing from one of our ex-parents who is blind herself and who has a daughter and son who are also vision impaired. This was such a key starting point for the day as she shared her personal journey with her children, the challenging and difficult times, the importance of the Qualified Teacher of the Vision Impaired Support and also how these young people have gone on to achieve their dreams and aspirations as young adults. During the day we then heard from four more parents whose children were either deaf or VI who all attended mainstream schools. Key themes included the importance of developing independence from an early age, never accepting that the diagnosis defines what your child can achieve, and the importance of those home visits in the early days. A huge thank you to all of our parents for coming along and being a part of the day.

“Loved this aspect of the day! And their advice on focusing on what the child ‘can do’ rather than just the ‘can’t do’’ ( parent)

“I found this very moving, their experiences of ‘the system’ good or bad will make me reflect on parent involvement and communication” (professional)

Dr Helen Chilton - Senior Lecturer in Deaf Education, Manchester University gave a keynote session on developing theory of mind and why this is crucial for our deaf and vision/ MSI children as they grow and develop. The session provided some really helpful information about what we mean by theory of mind and also lots of practical examples were shared which highlighted the impact of poor theory of mind development. Helen gave some great ideas on how books can support this area of development.

“Really interesting and reflective input to challenge us all in how we support all children with developing ToM”. (professional)

“Really helpful and made me excited to go back and share this with our team to implement through our direct work when working with families” (professional)

The importance of Music, Listening and Play in the Early Years was led by Julie Hughes - Chief Executive of the Elizabeth Foundation. Julie provided a wealth of examples and resources for parents and practitioners to use with lots of videos of what the activities look like in sessions. The feedback from participants was really positive and the role of music in developing listening and communication skills highlighted how this can be used as a tool which can be used at home and in our preschool groups.

“Lovely session to encourage use of music and how this supports fundamental communication skills” (parent)

Our final keynote session ‘Why is Sleep important for development’ was given by Jessica Hayton, Associate Professor in Psychology - Habilitation & Disabilities of Sight UCL. Jess is currently on maternity leave, and we were appreciative of her attending online along with her new baby, who was asleep for the whole session in his baby sling while Jess presented! Impressive! The session was well received, linking research together with practical examples of how good sleep routines can be developed through things like sleep hygiene and routines.

“Always great to hear together the science behind sleep and practical ideas” (parent)

The rest of the day was interspersed with VI and deaf specific workshops:

• Developing Deaf Identity led by Alison Hayes who is our Deaf Instructor in the Service
• Early Movement, Andrea Doyle, Senior Inclusion for Specialist Support Services.
• Research into Unilateral Deafness from Dr Hannah Cooper from ULC and The Royal Berkshire Hospital
• Joao Roe, Head of Sensory Support in Bristol led a practical session on ideas to promote play and social interaction The feedback from the day was overwhelmingly positive and both parents and professionals valued the opportunity to network with each other while hearing from both parents about their lived experiences and professionals working in the field. Thanks go to our central admin team -Oliva and Phoebe for organising all the practical arrangements and to Chloe and Sophies Special Ears Charity for bringing their stand. It was also lovely to have some new and familiar professionals attend as well as our local NDCS Community Connector Rania Samour. The event is held every two years so look out for our Family Fun Day in Summer 2027!

The parent and professionals day held at…

Jane Peters, Head of service, introducing…

Parents and professionals mingling during a break

Glue Ear Online Training - 17th March 2026

On Tuesday 17th March, professionals from schools across Berkshire and a number of Speech and Language Therapists met online to attend glue ear training. As part of the BSCS universal offer, the training provided an understanding of the causes of glue ear, as well as implications for the child (including symptoms and behaviours which could be used to identify that a child was struggling with hearing loss.) Professionals were given strategies to try in their own settings and an understanding of medical interventions, including hearing aids and grommets. Professionals reflected on their practice and were able to identify how they could improve auditory access for their children with glue ear, including standing still whilst they were teaching. 

Shopping Skills Workshop - 17th February 2026

Julie (BSCS habilitation specialist), and pupils engrossed in budgetting

A shopping skills workshop for secondary school pupils was successfully run by Julie Calce Bunker and Carol Barnfather from Berkshire Vision. We were lucky to have two volunteers from Berkshire Vision supporting us. Hosted by Reading Museum, the session was attended by six pupils. The workshop focused on practical skills, including seeking assistance, budgeting, and planning.

Deaf Awareness Online Training for schools - 28th January 2026

On Wednesday 28th January, professionals from schools across Berkshire met online to attend Deaf Awareness training. As part of the BSCS universal offer, the training provided an understanding of different types and degrees of hearing loss, as well as implications for children and young people. In addition, professionals were given a wide range of strategies to try in their own settings. This was a really exciting opportunity to provide support for all children and young people across Berkshire with hearing loss. It was fantastic to see rooms full of staff in attendance!

 

Grow Your Confidence Day - Saturday 6th December 2025

Nadeem and Anya learning about their strengths

BSCS Grow Your Confidence Day was well attended by a group of vision impaired mainstream secondary pupils from Years 7 - 13.

The main focus of the day was to help our young people to help develop their confidence to:

• be more independent in a variety of situations
• be better self-advocates to ask for their needs to be met
• develop independent mobility and independent living skills
• improve and develop social skills and friendships

Participants engaged in a variety of activities, including role play, paired and group activities, sharing information to explain their vision impairment, exploring real and shared experiences, and exploring strategies for improving self-advocacy and developing friendships and generally having fun.

 

 

Dinton Indoor Climbing Event – 12th October 2025

What a day to remember! On Sunday 12th October, the Berkshire Sensory Consortium Service hosted an adrenaline-pumping indoor climbing event at the fantastic Dinton Activity Centre in Hurst — exclusively for our incredible young adventurers in Years 4 to 7 with hearing loss and vision impairment. From the moment they clipped in, our pupils showed unstoppable courage and determination. They scaled walls with confidence, tackled the speed challenge with lightning-fast moves, and one superstar even earned a spot on the Dinton Activity Centre’s official records board!

With two phenomenal instructors leading the way, the session was not only empowering but also a brilliant opportunity for our young people to connect, laugh, and bond with others who share similar experiences. After conquering the climbs, everyone tucked into delicious food and enjoyed some well-deserved social time.

We couldn’t be prouder of their achievements. Well done to all those that took part.

Here are some comments from the attendees about what was their favourite thing about the event:

When I made it to the top.

The timing climb.

Trying to climb as high as I can.

Getting to the top.

The speed wall.

I really liked it. It was great.

I liked the big high walls.

The speed challenge.

 

Cane and Games Event - Autumn 2025

 

 

Berkshire Vision and the Berkshire Sensory Consortium's Habilitation Team recently collaborated on a Cane and Games event. The day celebrated the long cane as a crucial tool for independent mobility for people with a Vision Impairment. We were fortunate to have two of our older pupils share how the cane has positively impacted their lives.

We were delighted to host 10 young people and 9 parents, all of whom engaged enthusiastically in discussions and demonstrations highlighting the benefits and techniques of long cane use. It was a wonderful opportunity to share experiences, build confidence, and reinforce the importance of independent navigation.

The afternoon was an introduction to Goalball. Goalball is a unique and fully inclusive sport, specifically designed for individuals with vision impairment. It allows participants to develop spatial awareness, teamwork, and communication skills in a dynamic and supportive environment.

Teaching Assistant (TA) Network West November 2025

 

Huge thanks to Highdown School who hosted our West TA Network meeting for Teaching Assistants working with our pupils with vision impairments on 11th November.

The aim of these events is to build networking connections between professionals in order to share good practice to enhance teaching methods and improve student outcomes across the Local Authorities and they are held twice yearly in the East and West of the county.

November’s West meeting was led by QTVI Aimee Warren and QESTA Chihiro Gee and was well supported; with 10 attendees from a range of Wokingham, Reading and West Berkshire schools.

We discussed the roles and responsibilities of the professionals involved in the education of children and young people with a vision impairment, sharing the challenges we each face working with limited time and resources.

Attendees appreciated this opportunity to be released from their schools for professional development and left with a renewed vigor for their role and a couple of new technology tips and tricks!

Family Fun Day 2025

On 21st June 2025 Berkshire Sensory Consortium held our Family fun day. The event was a wonderful opportunity for families to meet each other in a relaxed environment and it was lovely to see new connections being made and friendships develop. Face painting and the bungee trampoline proved big hits and even Matilda the tortoise kept making her escape from the hall to have a look. There was something for everyone to enjoy from Lego, football - beat the goalie, arts and crafts, Swings and Smiles resources, the Sensory bus to making popcorn and much more. Our partner organisations - National Deaf Children's Society (NDCS), Berkshire Vision and VoluntEars - Volunteering Abroad were there to talk to families.

Thank you to all those that made the day possible, with a special thanks to Beech Lodge school for allowing us to host the event at their fantastic site.

  

    

 

  

 

 

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