Overview
Support for children and young people who are deaf or have a hearing impairment is provided from the point of diagnosis until the young person leaves school or further education. The child or young person does not need to have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) to receive out support and advice.
Who are we?
We are a team of qualified Teachers of the Deaf (TOD), Educational Audiologist, BSL instructors, specialist teaching assistant, who are based in the Nottingham City SEND Inclusive Support Service
We work closely with your deaf child and your family in homes, early years settings and in schools to support your child to be the best they can be.
Who do we work with?
We can work with you and your child if
your child has been identified as having a hearing impairment by Children's Audiology Services or a medical practitioner.
you live in Nottingham City and your child attends a Nottingham City School, or you live outside of Nottingham City, but your child attends a city school.
Independent schools can choose to commission support for children when they are statutory school age.
How can your child receive support?
Often the hospital will ask you if you would like them to refer your child to us when they have been identified as having a hearing impairment through the neonatal hearing screening or following a clinic appointment.
Anyone can refer a child to our service. You can refer your child yourself or referrals can come from the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo) at your child's school or educational setting or from other professionals working with you or your family.
What happens after your child has been referred?
The team will contact you, your child's early years setting or school. Depending on need, they will either provide written advice or arrange to visit your child at home or in a school or setting.
If they visit, they may carry out a functional hearing assessment to look at how your child or young person is using their hearing in schools and settings. They will provide a report describing the support that your child needs. Levels of support will vary according to the hearing needs of each individual child or young person and will be based on the National Sensory Impairment Partnership (NATSIP) eligibility Framework.
Early Years Support may include
Home visits: Working with you to help you develop your child's communication, this may be spoken language or sign language or both.
Providing information, support, and advice about deafness and how it affects your child and your family.
Supporting you to manage hearing aids or other hearing technology
Help you explore pre-school placements
Offer training to pre-school settings
Support transition to school
Signpost to other agencies
Support for school and post 16 may include:
Providing information, support and advice about deafness and how it affects your child to you, schools and colleges
Completing environmental audits to make sure that the school or setting is safe for your child.
Carry out specialist assessments such as language and listening skills to help you and the school understand your child's needs
Providing specialist teaching to support learning.
Liaising with other people involved with your child such as hearing clinic staff and speech and language therapists, to help us all have the best understanding of your child or young person's deafness.
Observing your child in school, then working with and providing training to the school staff to make sure that your child's needs are met.
Supporting the school in setting realistic targets for your child and providing strategies and signposting to resources to help them meet their targets.
Supporting all transitions between classes and schools, passing on all the information about your child's needs and if necessary, supporting your child on visits.
We may loan audiological equipment to help your child hear in school and help them and school learn how to use it
We can provide assemblies for pupils about understanding deafness and support deaf awareness training for staff and pupils in schools and post 16 colleges.