Sensory and/or Physical Impairment

Hearing Impairment (HI)

Children with a hearing impairment range from those with a mild hearing loss to those who are profoundly deaf. They cover the whole ability range. Hearing loss may be due to conductive or sensory-neural problems. Four categories are generally used: mild, moderate, severe and profound.

In education, pupils are considered to have a hearing impairment if they need hearing aids, adaptations to the environment and/or particular teaching strategies in order to access the curriculum.

Visual Impairment (VI)

Visual impairment covers a range of difficulties from minor visual impairment to blindness. Pupils with visual impairments cover the whole ability range.

In education, a pupil is considered to be visually impaired if they require adaptations to their environment or specific differentiation of learning materials to access the curriculum.

Multi-Sensory Impairment (MSI)

Children with multi-sensory impairment have a combination of visual and hearing difficulties. They may have some residual sight and/or hearing. Many also have additional disabilities, but their complex needs may mean that it may be difficult to determine their intellectual abilities.

Physical Disability (PD)

There is a wide range of physical difficulties. Pupils with physical difficulties do not necessarily experience special educational needs.

Medical Conditions

A medical diagnosis or disability does not necessarily imply a child has special educational needs. It depends on the impact of the condition on their educational needs. It may have a significant impact, for example if it affects cognitive or physical abilities, their behaviour or emotional state.

'Supporting Pupils with Medical Needs : a good practice guide' produced by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and the Department of Health (DH), provides advice for schools on drawing up medication policies and putting in place management systems to support pupils with medical needs.