SEND advice and guidance

Deaf and/or hard of hearing

Deaf and/or Hard of Hearing Team: How we support children and young people and their families

Our team uses a positive approach, focusing on what a child or young person can do. We offer advice and guidance, appropriate for the child or young person’s age and needs (in line with the SEND code of practice) and Devon’s Ordinarily, Available and Inclusive Provision (OAIP).

Ordinarily Available Inclusive Provision (OAIP)

Ordinarily Available Inclusive Provision (OAIP) describes the inclusive provision and practice that all Devon schools, early years, and post 16 settings should be able to provide for all children and young people, including those with SEND, from within their own resources. This will support all children and young people to attend, engage and thrive in their educational setting.

It describes approaches, provision and practice that is ‘helpful to all, harmful to none and crucial for some’.

The following link will provide more information about Devon’s Ordinarily Available Inclusive Provision (OAIP) frameworks.

Ordinarily Available Inclusive Provision – Support for schools and settings (devon.gov.uk)

Alongside the OAIP the team provide specialist provision to meet individual need.

Specialist:

Team core offer

  • Helping families understand the diagnosis/implications of hearing
  • Information about communication modes e.g. English, British Sign Language (BSL), Cued Speech
  • Amplification needs and aids (hearing aids, cochlear implants, Assistive Listening Devices)
  • Advice on educational provision e.g. early years settings/schools/ colleges/special schools
  • Establishing care and management of any hearing aids and/or cochlear implants
  • Explaining the stages of language development
  • Supporting families to: – develop the child’s language (English and/or British Sign Language) – become comfortable handling hearing technology – use strategies that will develop good listening skills
  • Providing training for use of equipment/deaf awareness/listening environment
  • Monitoring and maintenance of equipment
  • Delivering 1:1 sessions with children/young people to support various aspects of their development
  • Supporting children and young people to develop language (English and/or BSL)
  • Helping to develop/promote positive deaf identity
  • Support children and young people through key transition stages, including preparation for adulthood.

Training

We offer training courses for parents, teachers, teaching assistants and other professionals (including British Sign Language) To find out more, please visit the Devon Education Services website.

Requesting support from Sensory Needs and Physical Difficulties team

All requests for support are made using our online form using the link below.

Requests can be made by:

  • an educational setting,
  • medical professional e.g. Audiologist, Orthoptists, Paediatrician,
  • other professionals working with a child or young person e.g. social worker, speech & language therapist, ROVIC, Occupational Therapists

As a service we use the NatSIP eligibility criteria to guide decision-making on the level of support allocated to children and young people.

Please use the following link to request support:

Request for support from sensory needs and physical difficulties team

Consent

All requests for support must have a signed consent form. These need to be signed by a parent or carer if the child or young person is under sixteen. Young people over sixteen will need to sign their own consent form. These forms can be downloaded separately below or completed within the main request for support link above:

Consent form for child under 16

Consent form for young person over 16

Contact the Deaf and/or hard of hearing Team on 01392 287239.
Strategic lead for Sensory Needs and Physical Difficulties Team, lian.badcock@devon.gov.uk

Team lead for Sensory Needs and Physical Difficulties Team, glenn.chamberlain@devon.gov.uk

Useful links