Become a specialist in enabling people who are blind or partially sighted to be as independent as possible in their day to day lives by studying this foundation degree in Rehabilitation Work (Visual Impairment). As one of the only programmes of its kind in the UK, teaching for this rehab course will be based at our recently extended £71 million campus in Edgbaston, Birmingham.

What's covered in this course?

Visual impairment is a life changing experience and very often you will be working with people who are at a crisis point in their lives. A qualified Rehabilitation Worker's strength is to be a problem solver and to respond to a person's unique and complex situation. You will develop individual training programmes based on the person's needs and aspirations.

Your initial learning focuses on the individual and the impacts of visual impairment on all aspects of life. You will look at how to work in partnership with your clients and their families, and how to work inter-professionally to promote the needs of experiencing sight loss.

You will also learn how to enable people with a visual impairment to become independent in their daily lives. This may be through teaching orientation and mobility skills, safety and independence in the kitchen and the home, techniques to overcome communication barriers and making the best use of a person's strengths and any remaining vision.

You will attend the Universitys recently extended £71 million City South Campus for block learning weeks that are spread throughout each academic year. During these weeks you be involved in lectures, simulation sessions and a range hands on group activities on this practical course.

You will benefit from learning from an experienced teaching team and specialists from the sector as well as using our specialist resource rooms and training kitchens. In between teaching weeks you will be able to access extensive online materials and take part in valuable work based learning placements.

Enhancing Employability Skills

You'll graduate from this course with a recognised and valuable rehabilitation worker qualification. You will have the competence and skills to enable people who have sight loss to be as independent as possible in their day to day lives. You will develop a range of problem solving skills that will be crucial in your practice. Also, you will gain knowledge and experience from work with a range of professionals who work within a wider multi-disciplinary setting.

Our graduates find jobs with organisations including local authorities, sensory services teams and national and local charities.

As a rehabilitation specialist, you would be qualified to apply for work outside of the UK, for example, New Zealand.

Placements

You will complete a work-based learning placement in each academic year. This takes the form of a 40 day work placement in year one and a 60 day placement in year two. These are invaluable opportunities to build up hands-on experience and skills from the visual impairment sector.