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<p>The department is firmly committed to ensuring that children with special education
needs and disabilities (SEND), including visual impairments, receive the support they
need to achieve in their early years, school and college.</p><p>Information on the
number of qualified teachers of the visually impaired, and specialist habilitation
workers, is not collected by the department.</p><p>It is a legal requirement for qualified
teachers of classes of pupils who have sensory impairments to hold the relevant mandatory
qualification in sensory impairment (MQSI). To offer MQSIs, providers must be approved
by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education.</p><p>We intend to
develop a new approval process to determine providers of MQSIs from the start of the
academic year 2023/2024. Our aim is to ensure a steady supply of teachers of children
with visual, hearing, and multi-sensory impairment, in both specialist and mainstream
settings.</p><p>High needs funding, which is specifically for supporting children
with more complex SEND, will be increasing by £1 billion in the financial year 2022-23
and will bring the overall total of funding for high needs to £9.1 billion. This unprecedented
increase of 13% comes on top of the £1.5 billion increase over the last two years.</p><p>Decisions
about how funding is used, including for the employment of specialist teachers for
visually impaired children and specialist habilitation professionals, are made by
local authorities and schools.</p>
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