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InFocus
Services and organisations that have the Local Offer flash have filled out inclusion information, meaning that they meet the needs of people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

InFocus offers a range of educational, care and support services to children and young adults with visual impairment and other complex needs (including PMLD, Autistic Spectrum Disorder, severe learning disabilities, moderate learning needs, multi-sensory impairment, Cerebral Palsy, social and emotional needs).

Our services include:

Education provision

  • Day or residential placements for a 38-week academic year in College (16 to 25). These can be full time or part time
  • 38-week education placements plus 14-week additional residential support for an all-year-round package
  • Supported internships and work experience placements
  • Outreach support in mainstream and specialist schools, colleges and universities

Therapy, mobility and health

  • Full therapy support to our students and young people covering speech and language, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and music therapy
  • Mobility and orientation support from our ROVI team
  • Health care from our nurse and healthcare assistant team

All our specialists in therapy mobility and health are employed directly by the charity (not a bought-in service that you might find elsewhere). This means that they get to know all our young people and contribute to a truly holistic programme of support.

Adult care and support services

  • Full time residential care in St David’s House
  • Jigsaw, a day centre service for young adults living the community
  • Onsite and offsite supported living services
  • Residential respite and short breaks

Work placements and vocational support

  • Work placements and work opportunities for students and young people in the InFocus Community
  • Work experience and work placements for young people in the wider community of Devon, including in our retail and horticulture enterprises
  • Supported internships combining education, employability skills training and work experience as a stepping-stone to paid or voluntary employment

Admissions information

Please contact Richard Ellis (REllis@infocus-chariity.org.uk) to start a conversation about a potential placement at InFocus.

Who to contact

Contact name
Richard Ellis
Contact position
Head of Commissioning
Telephone
01392 454200
E-mail
REllis@infocus-charity.org.uk
Website
https://infocus-charity.org.uk/
Facebook
InFocus's facebook page
Twitter
InFocus's twitter page

Where to go

Name
InFocus
Address
Topsham Road
Countess Wear
Exeter
Devon
Postcode
EX2 6HA
Notes

InFocus's 14 acre campus hosts a specialist college (with accommodation for our residential students), a small registered care home for young adults, community day services and a host of adapted facilities and equipment, including:

  • hydrotherapy pool
  • swimming pool
  • multi-gym and outdoor fitness area
  • sensory gardens and horticulture area
  • training kitchens and occupational therapy facilities
  • radio station
  • sensory room
  • rebound therapy trampolines
  • internet radio station

Other details

Availability

Referral required
No

Inclusion details

Hoist icon Baby changing icon Disabled toilet icon Wheelchair icon Icon of two heads
How we make our service inclusive

InFocus adapts materials for College students according to their individual needs. Many of our young people are totally blind and might require books, texts or images to be produced into Braille or Moon (another tactile communication aid).

Students with some sight may require varying degrees of large print and for the text or paper to be a certain colour. Each young person’s preferred choice is known and catered for, along with any grading that the ophthalmologist may request.

In order for our students to be working at their best possible levels, we utilise many forms of accessible technology to assist their day-to-day lives and learning. This may be in the form of screen reader software on a PC or laptop; or accessibility functions on iPads and Android tablets and smart phones.

Dedicated Braille hardware and software is also available on site with professional end users teaching this subject area to a high level. We work with many well known suppliers of accessible technology (inc. Humanware & Dolphin) to ensure that our students are able to access the very latest technology available.

We have also adapted our accommodation and wider campus to meet the needs of the young people we support.

Staff SEND experience

InFocus ensures that continuing professional development (CPD) is given a very high priority in meeting the needs of all staff at InFocus and that staff are equipped to provide a high quality service to the children, young people and adults.

Teachers undertake appropriate qualifications for teaching people with visual impairment or multisensory impairment, and other mandatory and specialist training is incorporated during the year as part of the annual training and development plan. This includes a full internal staff development programme scheduled in on a termly basis as well as specific mandatory and non-mandatory training days for all staff. Training may include BSL (British Sign Language), Makaton,  NAPPI (Non-abusive Psychological and Physical Intervention) training, First Aid, Braille, Safeguarding, Manual Handling, Equality and Diversity etc. All new staff are fully inducted into awareness of the implications of visual impairment and are encouraged to keep a training portfolio to register all training undertaken during their probationary period and beyond.  

How our service supports providers / schools / colleges

InFocus supports students onsite, as well as those in mainstream settings. We seek to work in partnership and to fully engage with the community through our Outreach Services provision, including VI advisory service to schools, FE colleges and universities across the region. InFocus provides training and advice for pupils and students in independence skills, mobility and orientation, Braille, ICT and Access Technology, and training for staff in visual impairment awareness and the delivery of the curriculum to pupils and students with visual impairments and additional difficulties. The aim is to support both staff and pupils and students to achieve the best possible outcomes. 

Support at key transition points

Parents and carers are formally involved in their child’s decision making at their annual review. But parents do not have to wait till the annual review as they can contact us directly and have an ongoing dialogue with tutors and key-workers about their educational and social developments. InFocus holds regular ‘Parent Consultation’ meetings giving the opportunity for discussion regarding a number of different issues such as how the provision is run, new technologies etc. Parents are communicated with via Parentmail and other newsletters throughout the term. In addition, we use social media and our website to regularly update parents with events and news.  

Other local or national support

More information about InFocus is available from our charity's website. We are always happy to meet with families and help them find the best service for their child, even if that means referring them to other organisations in the south west and beyond.

VICTA is another charity that supports families of children and young people with vision impairment. Their VICTA Parent Portal contains information about education and other provision around the country.

Local charity Moorvision offers information, advice, support, activities and shared experiences for families of children and young people with vision impairment (including those with additional needs) aged 0-25 years, and for parent/carers with vision impairment in Devon (including Plymouth and Torbay) and Cornwall.

Resolving disagreements, mediation and making complaints

Our Complaints Policy and Procedure is available on our website.

Last updated: 06/06/2023

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