It was wonderful to see the reference in a recent edition of Tes to the overwhelming importance of touch in the lives and learning of our young people in schools.
As a school primarily for children with visual impairments, we are hardened veterans in the use and employment of touch, not only for teaching and learning but also for growth, development, discovery and creative exploration. Our children are experts in tactile feedback, in gaining an understanding of the world around them in a short space of time through touch and other senses. They move around the school with their hands on trail rails and find where they are with tactile signifiers at every door. They listen attentively to sounds and identify people from the sound of their footsteps or emotions through the pitch and tone of a voice.
Our curriculum is tactile and multisensory. Our children read and write through their sense of touch and tactile perception, which can take some pupils years to develop. We are not programmed to read and write with our fingers - these skills need to be learned. They develop language and concepts through tactile images or props, which comes with a whole host of challenges - for example, using a model of the Eiffel Tower to describe its shape when the model has no bearing on the actual size and impact of the building itself. As qualified teachers of children with visual impairments, we know how to adapt our approaches to overcome these challenges.
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In many ways, lockdown has given sighted people a small glimpse into the world of visual impairments when videos start to freeze and we have to rely on voices; when we can’t see or respond to body language or non-verbal communication to know when to cut into a conversation or when to stop talking. We are often left talking to a screen with no visual feedback if technology fails. Social navigation is made much harder when we are forced to rely on other senses and skills to be empathetic, understanding and responsive.
Our children are much more adept at technology than we are, and much more so with children and young people with visual impairments who rely on technology to access the world. They navigate devices with dexterity and skill using audio feedback alone.
So, what happens when we have to reduce the number of items we touch because of infection control, and we take away those tactile opportunities? How much learning can we realistically achieve?
Children with visual impairment will face challenges in schools all over the country because of the restrictions on how much we can touch. Our pupils rely on sighted guides for some aspects of travel when verbal instruction is not enough and while they are developing their cane skills. They regularly explore surfaces for orientation and mobility, which will have to be wiped down. They will need support in gauging what two metres looks like between pupils and staff.
As with all aspects of life post-Covid, we are going to have to change the way we work, and these may be positive changes. We will rely more heavily on technology and alternative ways to communicate. This will put our children and young people with visual impairments on a much more level playing field than ever before given their understanding and knowledge of technology.
Teachers will hopefully use the flipped classroom much more because of the need to produce physical resources for blended learning. These could be distributed in advance, giving our pupils with additional support needs (ASN) the time to digest the information before having the opportunity to discuss it. Marking and assessment can be done in real time and in direct response to issues arising from the lesson. In this way, our pupils get instant feedback.
The world will have to discover alternatives to visual and non-verbal communication that rely on the other senses. We will have to re-evaluate how we deliver education. We will have to be attuned to sound and tone of voice like we have never been before as we work and learn more remotely. Hopefully, the world will adapt in the way blind and partially sighted people have adapted the world over, to life through a different lens.
Lauren Lockhart is depute headteacher at the Royal Blind School in Edinburgh
