What Makes This Course So Special?
• Gaining an Mandatory Qualification (MQ) enables you to become a specialist teacher. You may then join a network of professionals with the same qualification by attending meetings within Wales and beyond and by accessing various forums on the internet.
• A prize (currently named the Joyce Chatterton Award) is presented to the highest achieving student within this pathway each year.
• As all pupils with visual impairment are entitled to support from a Qualified Teachers of the Visually Impaired (QTVI) your potential for employment is very good.
Course Intro
This course is for you if you have qualified teacher status plus teaching experience and are looking to specialise in teaching children and young people with visual impairment. To do this you are required by regulations to obtain a specialist qualification, known as a Mandatory Qualification (MQ). This also includes gaining a qualification in Braille. This course is recognised as a specialist qualification for Qualified Teachers of the Visually Impaired (QTVI).
Although the majority of course participants aim to gain QTVI status, the course may also be followed by teachers, who may exit after completion of the taught modules with a Postgraduate Diploma SEN.
What you study
To gain a Postgraduate Diploma in Visual Impairment participants must pass four modules.
Three taught modules:
• Social, Emotional and Medical Effects of Visual Impairment
• Classroom Practice (VI)
• Leadership and Management (VI)
The detailed specialist modules are taught in a linear method across 2 years of part-time study.
During their first year of study students must also pass the fourth module:
• Understanding Learning Difficulties and Disabilities: which is taught on the campus or can be accessed via e-learning (please refer to prospectus entry E -Gateway to SEN, page ?).
The programme includes lectures, seminars, visits, workshops and teaching placements.
The course aims to prepare students to become specialist teachers who can work in a range of educational settings and across all ranges. Qualified teachers of the visually impaired work in homes, mainstream nurseries and schools, special schools and resourced bases within mainstream schools. They provide expert advice, support and expertise to parents and to mainstream and special school teachers who have pupils with visual impairment in their classrooms. They also provide teaching of specialist skills such as Braille, use of specialist technology as well as ensuring that the curriculum is suitably modified to meet the needs of individual pupils.
Qualified teachers of the visually impaired also work closely with school staff, providing in-service training on the needs of individual pupils with visual impairment to ensure that they achieve highest possible standards.
A programme specification for this course is available.
Where Next?
Upon successful completion, most students will undertake the Research Methodology module and will then proceed to the MA dissertation, in order to achieve the award of MA SEN.
After completing their Masters award, some students take further qualifications in SEN at the University. If you are interested in the possibility of a higher degree by research, your tutors will be pleased to discuss the opportunities for doing so here at Newport.
Interview Required
Yes. All candidates are interviewed to ascertain suitability for the course and current experience of working with pupils with visual impairment.
Assessment
Each module is assessed by submitting a written assignment of 5,000 words, or equivalent. The Classroom Practice module is assessed via the teaching practice component where students are observed in their placement (six weeks over 2 years) and on submission of their teaching practice file. Students who do not already possess a qualification in Braille will need to pass the staged Braille exams before they can become QTVIs.
Student Soundbite
“The QTVI course is designed to cover every aspect of teaching children with visual impairment. It helped to prepare me for the realities that I now face on a daily basis within this rewarding area of SEN.”