Hearing and vision

The team works in closely with a range of other agencies, including organisations such as the:

• National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS)
• Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB)
• Blind Children’s Society
• National Sensory Loss Partnership (NatSIP)

Working with these organisations helps us to make sure that the needs of children and young people with a hearing or visual impaired and their families are met. A full list of our partners can be found in a section below.

Services provided – All phases

• Provision of unbiased information to families and other agencies
• Attendance where possible at the Paediatric Hearing Aid Review Clinic for the initial hearing aid fitting and subsequent reviews
• Liaison with Paediatric Ophthalmology teams
• Functional assessments of hearing or vision
• Advice on all levels of hearing and vision loss and reasonable adjustments that can be made.
• Specialist advice in the preparation of Education Health and Care Plans
• Liaison with Audiology and Ears, Nose and Throat (ENT) Departments, Ophthalmology and Optometry Departments
• Check hearing aids using an electro acoustic hearing aid analyser at least three times a year
• Liaison with Social Workers, Health Visitors, Speech and Language Therapists, Portage, Educational Psychologists etc.
• Attend the local Childrens Services Working Group (CHSWG) to help develop good working practice with other agencies and partners in North East Lincolnshire and nationally with regards to Deaf children
• Work with other Sensory teams nationally to ensure quality of provision and good practice is maintained in line with national expectation
• Use questionnaires with schools, children, young people and their families to find where additional support can be offered and to obtain feedback on services delivered
• Offer advice to schools regarding appropriate adaptations to enable accessibility to examinations in line with the Equality Act from Early Years to leaving school
• Provide BSL tuition during term times to families of Deaf children and young people

Services provided – Early years, before attending a school or setting

• Support and advice to parents of new born babies from point of diagnosis
• Support families to develop their child’s listening and vision skills
• Support families to meet other families and attend groups for Early Years
• Support families to record their baby’s achievements using a range of resources including Monitoring Protocol for Deaf Babies and Children or Early Years Journal for Visually Impaired Children
• Offer regular home visits as appropriate
• Access to signing support for families where children use British Sign Language or Sign Supported English as their primary language

Services provided – Settings and schools

• Practical advice to preschool settings and classroom teachers on teaching approaches to ensure access to the curriculum
• Regular monitoring and tracking of progress to inform planning and teaching programs
• Individual and small group teaching by specialist qualified staff from the ETHV to develop listening and communication skills, literacy, numeracy, mobility, independence and skills for life where assessed as appropriate
• Support from ETHV staff to deliver programs devised by Specialist Teachers from ETHV including: early communication, hearing aid care, developing early sensory skills, social and emotional well-being, independence, Information Technology (IT) and visual access skills where assessed as appropriate
• End of Key Stage outcomes data for children and young people with a hearing or vision loss is reported annually to NatSIP which is compared to outcomes nationally
• Professional development and training for settings and school staff in hearing and vision loss and reasonable adjustments in the classroom or setting. Training is generally free. Please see our Training Offers: Hearing (PDF)  and Vision (PDF) 
• Advice on acoustic conditions and the physical learning environment and how these can be improved
• Help schools to make all the necessary reasonable adjustments by offering Access Audits for Deaf and Visually impaired people. Please refer to our leaflet Environmental audit of accessibility to settings in respect of visual loss (PDF)  and Access Audit for Deaf people in schools and settings (PDF) 
• Promoting deaf and vision awareness amongst peer groups

For our team to be able to provide the above, we need schools and settings to work with us and to have read our leaflet Service Delivery Expectations with Schools and Settings (PDF, 175KB) .

Services provided – Transition

• Work closely together with children and young people, their families and other professionals at times of transition.
• Questionnaires to pupils and parents to support children and young people at times of transition
• Bespoke transition packages for children and young people who require it
• Habilitation support for pupils with a visual loss who require it

Services provided – Specialist equipment

• Provision of additional specialist equipment is loaned for those children and young people who are assessed to need it e.g. Radio Aid systems, low vision aids and specialist IT equipment
• Ensure that all specialist equipment is well maintained and appropriately used by the child or young person and school staff under a loan agreement
• Professional development and training for settings and school staff in use and management of specialist equipment, its safe storage and return arrangements