Services for Deaf Children and Young People form part of the Sensory & Physical Service, which is in turn part of the Specialist Education Service.
Our service offers support and/or advice for children and young people who have a diagnosis of a hearing loss.
The team is made up of Teachers Of The Deaf (ToDs), also known as specialist teachers, Sensory Support Practitioners (SSPs), a British Sign Language (BSL) Tutor and a Technical Officer.
Outreach services for deaf children aged 0-3 and their families
We support children and families from first diagnosis. The level and type of support offered varies according to need but can include
- Home visits and support to understand the hearing loss and get used to hearing technology
- Advice and support to promote communication and listening development
- Monitoring and targeting of language development
- Local drop in groups to meet other families and chat informally
- Liaison with professionals such as Audiologists
Outreach services for deaf children and young people in education
We support colleagues in schools and other settings such as nurseries and colleges to understand how deafness can affect a child or young person’s access to learning, progress, language and social inclusion.
At the point of referral, we assess the child or young person through speaking to school staff, parents and the child him/herself.
We are able to offer support in creating a deaf-friendly environment with good practice at its heart. We advise on strategies and approaches that support the inclusion of children and young people with a hearing loss.
We deliver introductory training in deaf awareness and the use of deaf friendly strategies as well as in specific areas such as effective use of technology.
For a more information about the support available from the service, please see the service specification.
Specialist educational provision for deaf children and young people
Suffolk’s specialist resource bases for deaf children or young people provide bespoke packages of support that include access to education in the mainstream.
Resource bases are staffed by a Qualified Teacher of the Deaf (ToD) also known as a Specialist Teacher and Specialist Learning Support Assistants or Communication Support Workers.
To apply for a place in a specialist resource base, please contact your Teacher of the Deaf or the Sensory and Physical team directly.
Primary Resource Bases:
- Elm Tree Primary School, Lowestoft
- Rushmere Hall Primary School, Ipswich
- Westgate Primary School, Bury St Edmunds
Secondary Resource Bases:
British Sign Language
The team are able to offer support for families, children and young people who wish to begin to learn British Sign Language (BSL). For some children and young people this leads to undertaking an accredited BSL course. Training from the BSL tutors or support from other members of the team constitutes part of our core offer and is made available according to the needs of individual children, families and young people.
For more information contact the Sensory and Communication team.
The team
Head of Services for Deaf Children and Young people
Andrea Carron – [email protected]
Teachers of the deaf
Sarah Hack – [email protected]
Jo Hughes – [email protected]
Melissa Julings – [email protected]
Christine Lall – [email protected]
Sue McCrone – [email protected]
Ruth Manly – [email protected]
Sheena Owens – [email protected]
Heather Oxford – [email protected]
Marie Sanderson – [email protected]
Amanda Sandilands – [email protected]
Greg Thomson – [email protected]
Lynn Brewer – [email protected]
Cassie Smith – [email protected]
Technical officer
Sharon Meredith – [email protected]
Sensory Support Practitioners
Laura Howard
BSL Tutors
Richard Carron
Darcey Hicks
Contact details and referral form
Andrea Carron, Head of Services for Deaf Children and Young People
[email protected]– 07850 217238
Resources for Education
Information from the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS)
- Checklist for teachers delivering online lessons