Watch back: Teaching pupils who have mild vision and hearing difficulties

Mild vision and hearing problems in children are much more common than we might think and can act as a significant barrier to teaching and learning.

Vision problems: Studies suggest that 1 in 5 children have some form visual deficit with the potential to affect their educational development (Li et al, 2016) and there have been “significant increases” (Holden et al, 2016) in short-sightedness due to increasing screentime among other factors.

Hearing loss: Almost 1 in 5 children can be affected by mild hearing loss with the majority developing problems during childhood. Even minimal problems can have an impact on cognitive and auditory skills, speech and language development, and educational outcomes (Lieu et al, 2020; Moore et al, 2020).

This SecEd webinar – produced in conjunction with SchoolScreener for Schools – offered practical strategies for how teachers and schools can support the education of these children, including classroom tips. We discussed spotting the signs of undiagnosed problems and how schools can set-up screening programmes and work with parents and carers to ensure children are supported.