About this service
The Hearing Impairment/Deaf Education Service is part of Local Authority Inclusion Services.
The Service is for children with a permanent childhood deafness, their families, carers and schools.
It operates Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm during term time only.
The Service provides help and information about Hearing Impairment and the impact it has on children's learning and development.
Service Information
| Referral required | Yes |
| Eligibility requirements | Yes |
Notes
Eligibility requirements:
Child or Young Person must be diagnosed with Hearing Impairment.
Referral pathway is from Audiology.
For any queries regarding a referral, please contact the Service directly by phone/email: 0161 253 7159. HITeam@bury.gov.uk
Local Offer
| Contact Name | Lesley Woods |
| Contact Email | L.A.Woods@bury.gov.uk |
| SEN Provision Type | specialist |
Details
The Hearing Impairment/ Deaf Education Service Comprises of Specialist Teachers of Deaf (ToD) and Special Support Assistants (SSA). The service works with deaf babies, children and young people aged 0 - 18 and their families to promote better outcomes for deaf CYP.
The majority of deaf children attend their local nursery or mainstream schools. Some children attend the Specialist Hearing Impairment Unit, based at Elton Primary School and a small number of children attend special schools.
All children who use hearing aids or cochlear implants will have a designated ToD who will visit them at their setting. Early Years can be seen in the family home, at nursery or with their childminder.
Support may include providing information and Deaf Awareness Training to mainstream staff, checking hearing devices and specialist equipment such as radio aids, supporting teaching both in class and on an individual basis, contributing to the assessment and monitoring of pupils’ progress, providing advice about access arrangements for SATs, GCSE, A levels and BTECs.
The Service works in partnerships with the Vision Impairment Team, Health Professionals, Early Years Providers, Schools and colleges, Education and Health Care Team, Social Care Teams and the Portage Team.
The Service supports deaf children from the point of diagnosis of a bilateral hearing impairment until they leave full time education. The type and level of support each child receives varies according to their individual needs based on National Sensory Impairment Criteria.
Support may include individual or small group teaching, provision of specialist assistive listening equipment such as radio aids, on going assessment of language and communication development, and monitoring how children use their hearing devices.
The Service aims to support and empower families to make informed choices on behalf of/with their children. The Service provides information to families about all aspects of deafness and its impact on children’s language, education, social and emotional development.
The Service supports families to help their children make good use of their hearing devices; learn about the different communication methods used by deaf people including speech and sign language; consider all available options when choosing schools for their children; apply for benefits and services; make contact with other families to share experiences and ideas, access a range of information and services available from regional and national organisations, both statutory and voluntary.