We offer support children and young people (up to 18 years old) who have a:

• vision impairment
• dual sensory impairment (vision and hearing impairments)
• multisensory impairment (vision, hearing, additional sensory processing and or disabilities)
• deafblind impairment
• registration status of sight impaired or severely sight impaired
• deafblind record

If you would like to talk about your child’s needs or discuss making a referral then please contact us.

If you think your child is eligible for an assessment from our service then you, your child or a professional who knows your child (for example, an ophthalmologist, orthoptist, social care worker, healthcare worker, teacher, GP or support worker) should complete the Request for Services form.

Alternatively, you can write to:

ROVIC Service
Devon County Council
County Hall – Room 235
Topsham Road
Exeter
EX2 4QD

If you need help completing the form or would like to discuss anything, please telephone the ROVIC Team on 01392 380992 (telephone line is available 9.00 am to 5.00 pm Monday to Thursday).

Our Clinical Service Manager will review the information provided on the request for service form to understand the needs that your child and family have. They will use this information to decide whether an assessment by our service is required or will signpost you to other services.

As soon as we have agreed to do an assessment, we will contact you (as parent/carers) to start the assessment process.

To help us understand your child’s needs, we will get to know you and your child. This will include observing your child and areas of difficulty.

We’ll also discuss concerns and progress during our assessment.

We will work with you, your child and, wherever possible and appropriate, other professionals to gather information to help us understand and identify your child’s visual or dual sensory / deafblind needs, and whether habilitation and rehabilitation could support them.

With your permission, and in order to fully see the benefits of working together, we will work with other professional teams across health, education and social care.

We will identify the training recommended to support your child’s independence and learning of life skills.

The ROVIC Service will agree a workable training programme with you and your child. This can include other settings such as education and clubs.

At the end of a training programme, we often recommend a time of ‘consolidation’. This means a time to practice and perfect those newly learnt skills.

We also know that throughout childhood the need for independence and inclusion can change. Therefore, we will support the development of childhood and transition skills based on your child’s visual needs.

Only an Ophthalmologist (eye doctor) can issue a ‘Certificate of Vision Impairment’ (CVI), change it or officially cancel it (de-certify).

This link explains why and how a certificate of vision impairment is given.

The CVI formally confirms someone as either severely sight impaired or sight impaired.

The CVI is also a request for a social care assessment. This assessment can bring together services and support if needed. In Devon, the ROVIC Service carry out this assessment as part of the CVI registration process for all children under the age of 18.

The ophthalmologist will send a copy of the CVI to the ROVIC Service. Once we receive this, we will contact you.

The issuing of a Certificate of Vision Impairment (CVI) by a consultant in ophthalmology (eye doctor) formally confirms the level of vision as either severely sight impaired or sight impaired.

The CVI also acts as a request for a social care assessment. This assessment will be undertaken by the ROVIC Service.

Completing the registration process

After we have received a copy of the CVI from the consultant ophthalmologist we will contact you to arrange either a home visit, video or telephone call. Please allow around 90 minutes for this meeting. We need time to make sure we find out what support your child or young person might need from us.

Following our meeting with you we might, with your agreement:

• make a referral to other specialist services
• sign post you to local or national charities and organisations
• make a referral to the Disabled Children’s Service and request a social care needs assessment

Local authority register for vision impairment

Under the Care Act 2014 all local authorities have a duty to keep a register of people issued with a CVI for their sight loss.

In Devon, the register for those under the age of 18 years is kept and maintained by the ROVIC Service. However, you can choose not to have your child’s name added to this register. If you have any questions or concerns about this please contact us.

Information about the Care Act 2014 can be found here.

A social care needs assessment

Children and young people with disabilities under 18 years old can ask for an assessment of all their needs.

The aim of a needs assessment is to find out the needs of both the child as well as their family and agree outcomes to help maintain or improve their wellbeing.

This can range from offering information and sign posting, to the arranging of services or support, including direct payments (personal budgets) to meet the identified needs.

The Disabled Children’s Service can undertake a child’s needs assessment. Find out more about accessing support from the Disabled Children’s Service.

Information pack

A ROVIC information pack will be given during the home visit or hospital eye clinic appointment. If you need an additional or replacement pack please contact us.

You might be eligible for the following benefits and concessions if you are certified as either sight impaired or severely sight impaired:

1. The National Bus Pass gives free off peak travel on local buses anywhere in England from age 5 years.
2. The Disabled Persons Railcard provides a discount when travelling by train. One adult can get a third off most rail fares. Fares will be charged for children aged between 5 and 15 years old.
3. Rail discounts are also available in England and Wales if you don’t have a Disabled Persons Railcard. You can use the ROVIC ‘registration’ card to buy discounted rail tickets.
4. For customers who stay in their own wheelchair during a rail journey, concessionary rail discounts are available on adult and child fares.
5. The Cinema Exhibitors Association offer a national concessionary card that enables those aged 8 years and over with disabilities to receive a complimentary ticket for someone to go to the cinema with them.
6. Royal Mail offers free postage on qualifying items labelled ‘Articles for the Blind’.

The following additional benefits are available only if you are certified as severely sight impaired:

1. There is a 50% reduction in the cost of a TV license for those who are certified as severely sight impaired.
2. The Blue Badge parking scheme helps people with disabilities or health conditions park closer to their destination.
3. The Devon Companion Bus Pass is available to applicants of secondary school age or above who are registered severely sight impaired or have a severe disability and are only able to access local bus services with the assistance of a travelling companion.

The above information can also be found in the Starting Out booklet from the RNIB.

Registration card

We will send you a registration card which will state:

• your name
• your home address
• the date the certificate was issued
• your visual impairment status of either sight impaired or severely sight impaired

This card can be used instead of the paper certificate to access leisure concessions when out and about.

Free home safety checks

The ROVIC Service work in partnership with the Devon & Somerset Fire and Rescue Service. We can arrange a home safety visit on your behalf. See our contact us page for details of how to get in touch.

You can also make direct contact by telephone on 0800 05 02 999 or for further information please look at the Devon & Somerset Fire and Rescue Service website.

Local Authorities have statutory responsibilities towards assessing the needs of children and young people who have a combined sight and hearing impairment causing difficulties with communication, access to information and mobility. Children and young people do not need to be completely deaf and blind. As with other conditions dual sensory impairment spans a continuum of need ranging from slight sensory impairments to severe / total deafblind sensory loss and complex disabilities.

The local authority are required to provide specialist assessments, appropriate information and services designed to meet the needs of children and young people presenting with a combination of sight and hearing impairment.

Within Devon the ROVIC Service undertake these assessments for children and young people up to the age of 18 years old. You can read more about the Deafblind Policy guidance we follow here.

The Guidance in brief

The responsibilities are to:

• identify, make contact with and keep a record of children and young people presenting with a combination of sight and hearing impairment in the Devon area (including those who have dual sensory impairment / deafblindness)
• ensure that when an assessment is required or requested, it is carried out by a specifically trained person or team, equipped to assess the needs of a child or young person with dual sensory impairment in relation to their communication, access to information and mobility
• ensure they are able to access specifically trained one-to-one support workers for those children and young people they assess as requiring one
• ensure that appropriate services are provided to those children and young people identified with dual sensory impairment or deafblind needs, who are not necessarily able to benefit from mainstream services or those services aimed primarily toward vision or deaf impairments
• provide information about services in formats and through methods that are accessible to those with dual sensory impaired / deafblindness
• ensure that one member of senior management includes, within their responsibilities, overall responsibility for deafblind services.

Areas covered in the assessment include:

• use of vision and hearing
• use of other senses
• orientation, mobility and impendence skills
• communication and access to information
• emotional, social and personal skills
• health and medical needs
• behaviour
• educational needs
• leisure needs

If you would like to discuss the deafblind policy guidance further please contact us.

Information and support is also available from Deafblind UK and SENSE.

Education

• Devon Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) – What is SEND?
• Devon Information and Advice Service (DIAS)
• Devon Education Services – sensory and physical

Hearing and communication

• Speech and Language Therapy
• CHIME – Social Enterprise Audiology Services East and Mid Devon Read more about the hearing services delivered to east and mid Devon here.
• The Hearing Service in Torbay and South Devon provides audiology clinics at Torbay and Newton Abbot hospitals for hearing assessments appointments and children’s hearing aid clinics. Older children and young people can have assessments at Teignmouth and Totnes hospitals. Full details can be found here.
• The Paediatric Audiology Service North Devon provides audiological assessment and treatment for children from new born to adulthood.  The team works in close conjunction with Teachers of the Deaf, Paediatricians, Social Services and ENT consultants.  GPs, Paediatricians, Speech and Language Therapists, Health visitors, school nurses and other professionals can make referrals. Further information can be found here 
• Cochlear implants provide a sensation of hearing to people who have permanent, severe to profound deafness, and cannot hear the full range of speech sounds with standard hearing aids. Information about the West of England Cochlear Implant Programme can be found here.

Social care

• Disabled Children’s Services
• MASH (Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub)

Vision (ophthalmology) eye clinics

• Barnstaple Northern Devon Health Care
• Exeter Royal Devon West of England Eye Unit
• Newton Abbot and Torbay Children’s Eye Clinics
• Plymouth Royal Eye Infirmary

Wellbeing

• CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service)
• Every Mind Matters
• Kooth
• Young Minds
• Young Devon

Charities

• CVI Society
• Deafblind UK
• Deafblind Enablement UK   
• Devon in Sight
• Guide Dogs for the Blind
• National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS)
• RNIB See differently
• RSBC (Royal Society for Blind Children)
• SENSE

Below is a list of some organisations that provide books with large print, braille and audio material.

• Bag Books multisensory stories and storytelling resources.
• BorrowBox with BorrowBox, your library in one app, our vision is now a reality. Borrow eBooks and eAudiobooks free from your library using our BorrowBox app.
• Book Trust is the UK’s largest reading charity.
• Calibre Audio is a national charity lending free audiobooks to anyone who is print disabled.
• ClearVision is a postal lending library of children’s books designed to be shared by visually impaired and sighted children and adults. Their books have braille, print and pictures so that children with little or no sight can share books with their sighted friends and family, and adult braille readers can enjoy stories with sighted children.
• Custom Eyes produce books in large-print, tailor-made to suit your child’s eye condition. Books include fact and popular fiction titles, annuals and National Curriculum revision guides for home and school.
• Devon libraries is a network of 50 libraries and four mobile libraries. They offer free access to thousands of books, eBooks, audiobooks, online reference, music and magazines.
• Living Paintings provide tactile and audiobooks for blind people.
• Listening Books is an audio book lending charity for those that find their illness, mental health, physical or learning disability affects their ability to read the printed world or hold a book.
• RNIB Library is a free collection of over 60,000 items, including audio, braille, giant print, and music.

CYP Sight Loss MOT Part A
A Resource Guide and Checklist for Children and Young People Living with Vision Impairment.

CYP Sight Loss MOT Part B
Children and Young People’s Sight Loss MOT Checklist.

Curriculum Framework for Children and Young People with Vision Impairment
The Curriculum Framework for Children and Young People with Vision Impairment
has been developed to support children and young people with vision impairment
access an appropriate and equitable education.

Habilitation Quality Standards – Delivery of Habilitation
Training (Mobility and Independent Living Skills) for Children and Young People with Visual Impairment.

Information about vision impairment
A Guide for parents – This is a series of information resources on vision impairment for parents and carers of children and young people with a vision impairment.

The Children’s Society
A national charity working to transform the hopes and happiness of young people facing abuse, exploitation and neglect.

The CVI Society
Changing perceptions of vision

The ROVIC service work with children and young people with deaf blindness or a dual sensory loss. For those with a singular sensory impairment in hearing or deafness, please refer to the National Deaf Children’s Society for advice and guidance.

Auditory processing disorder
Auditory processing disorder (APD) is where you have difficulty understanding sounds, including spoken words. APD often starts in childhood but some people develop it later.

Auditory Processing, clearing the waters
This document explains what APD is, how it is diagnosed, what its characteristics are
and most importantly how to support children both in and out of school.

british-sign.co.uk
Learn something new – British sign language online tools and resources

Childhood deafness
The term ‘deaf’ refers to all types of hearing loss from mild to profound. This includes deafness in one ear or temporary hearing loss such as glue ear.

Cochlear implant: stimulation on speech and music – YouTube
A child with deafness in one ear explains how their cochlear implant sounds.

Devices worn on a headband for hearing impairments
Bone conduction hearing aids and bone conduction hearing implant devices can also be worn on a headband (non-surgical).

Hearing loss simulation
Understanding hearing loss is more complex than you might imagine. Hearing loss is rarely just the loss of amplification (volume).
In order to simulate the different levels of hearing loss (mild, moderate, severe, profound), this video demonstrates how a conversation could sound with a hearing impairment.

The ling six sounds check
The ling sounds are used to check hearing across all frequencies.

How to play with children with complex disabilities
Giving lots of fun ideas for ways children with complex disabilities can enjoy playing.

Learning through play
Helping your child with a vision impairment develop through play.

Let’s play
Toys and play ideas for young children with vision impairment.

Messy and Muddy
A guide to outdoor play for children with vision impairment.

Nursery rhyme songbook
A collection of nursery rhyme classics for children with a vision impairment to move and groove to. With suggested specific movements and actions for each song, helping your child learn more about their bodies and how they move.

The world of play.
Children are always learning while they play. It’s a great way for you to help their development while having fun together.

Safeguarding

Devon safeguarding children partnership
Our aim is to make sure that children and families get the right support, in the right place at the right time.

FearFree
Information, Advice and Guidance from our trained Assessment, Safeguarding and Early Intervention team. Our service will ensure that victims are supported to stay safe and recover.

NSPCC
Everything we do protects children today and prevents abuse tomorrow, to transform society for every childhood.

The Children’s Society
A national charity working to transform the hopes and happiness of young people facing abuse, exploitation and neglect.

Online safety

CEOP (The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command) Education – Thinkuknow
The National Crime Agency’s CEOP Education team aim to help protect children and young people from online child sexual abuse.

UK safer internet centre
Helping children and young people stay safe online

Preparing for adulthood

Transition is a word often used to describe the process when you move from being a child to an adult. It covers the period between ages 14 and 25. The ROVIC Service is committed to supporting young people and their families in achieving a transition that is responsive to individual need.

Preparing for adult life – supporting you as you plan for your future – The term ‘preparing for adulthood’ is used to describe the time in your life as you move from being a child to an adult and can start from year 9.

Transitions Adult Social Care (TASC) Service – Until the age of 18, services for children and young people with long-term health conditions are provided by child health and social care services. From 18, they’re usually provided by adult services. Between the ages of 14 and 18, a child will start a transition to adult services.

Sensory disability services – Devon Sensory Team provides support and advice to people who are visually impaired, deaf, have an acquired hearing loss, deafblind (sometimes known as a dual sensory impairment – a significant combination of hearing and sight loss).

Adult Social Care – Supporting your independence – Helping you to find the support you need to stay healthy, happy and independent

Important referral route update

Devon County Council’s ROVIC Service has been supported in partnership with Children and Family Health Devon through the Single point of access (SPA) for many years.

From the 31st March 2024 Devon County Council have developed an alternative route to request services. Referrals for the ROVIC team will be submitted directly to the ROVIC Service effective as of 1^st April 2024.

Parents, Carers and Professionals can request our services using the online request for service form.

Children and Family Health Devon (CFHD) and Devon County Council (DCC) will continue to work in partnership to support children and young people and families in Devon, during this transition.

We know that this is a big change for families and we are working hard to ensure this is a seamless transition.  If you have any comments or concerns Devon County Council are receiving feedback via a request for feedback form.

We work from several offices across Devon. County Hall in Exeter is our administrative office base. Our other offices listed below:

• Springfield Court, Barnstaple.
• Phoenix House, Tiverton.
• Follaton House, Totnes.

Email us at ROVIC@devon.gov.uk

Call us on 01392 380992 (telephone line is available 9.00 am to 5.00 pm Monday to Thursday).

Post to:

ROVIC Service
Devon County Council
County Hall – Room 235
Topsham Road
Exeter
EX2 4QD