Specialist and Outreach Teams: Hearing Impairment Service

There are two HI ARCs. These additional resources centres are located on site at XP Plover Primary School and Outwood Academy Danum.

These are specialised provisions within mainstream primary and secondary schools designed to support children and young people with hearing impairments.  

The centres aim to provide tailored educational support, while promoting inclusion and accessibility, within the school environment. 

Children who are placed on the school roll, to access these centres, require additional specialist support than available in a local school.

The children usually have a severe to profound hearing loss with delayed language development. Placement to access the HI ARCs are via the Council’s SEN Panel. (Most hearing impaired children attend a local school setting). 

XP Plover School (Primary) 

https://ploverschool.co.uk/about-us/arc-hi/ 

Outwood Academy Danum (Secondary & VI Form) 

https://www.danum.outwood.com/inclusive-curriculum 

Children or young people who have been diagnosed with a hearing loss and prescribed with hearing aid/s by an audiology service should have access to a specialist Teacher of the Deaf (ToD). 

We support children who are diagnosed with mild, moderate, severe or profound hearing losses. The hearing loss may be in one ear (unilateral) or in both ears (bilateral). The hearing loss may be temporary due to a conductive loss (e.g. glue ear); or permanent due to a sensorineural loss; or it may be a mixed loss due to conductive overlay (e.g. a combination of fluctuating glue ear and sensorineural loss).

Very few CYP have no functional hearing. 

The provision of hearing aid/s (e.g. behind the ear with ear mould/s) typically improves the child’s functional hearing to support them to access speech and environmental sounds in the world around them at school and home. However, they do not make hearing go back to ‘normal.’  

The type of hearing loss and severity impacts on auditory, communication, social and language development.  

This impacts on the child’s access to language in the world around them and access to the curriculum (e.g. literacy development). However, the implications are individual to each child and young person.  

Hearing impairment is also associated with some other conditions, such as Downs Syndrome. 

To request support from the Service, a referral needs to be made by an NHS Audiology department or the school setting by completing the referral form via the link below.  

Once a referral has been received, the Service will liaise with the audiology department to obtain the child’s records and information to determine whether the child is eligible to be added to caseload. 

Following this, a specialist Teacher of the Deaf will determine and advise on the appropriate level of need for the child in-line with the Graduated Approach and the outcome of any initial assessments/ information received.  

Ongoing assessments will be carried out as appropriate to the child’s needs in-line with the Assess, Plan, Do, Review approach. This is because a hearing loss can fluctuate (go up or down) or get worse over time and recommendations made may change as the child develops and progresses through the curriculum.  

• Referral forms

The Service offers a range of support for children, parents/ carers, schools and other agencies, as appropriate to the child’s needs which may include but is not limited to: 

• Information about the child’s hearing impairment and implications for access to communication and learning at home and school 

• Supporting settings to meet a child’s needs in-line with the Graduated Approach 

• Coaching and advice for parents/ carers and professionals 

• In-service training for schools (whole-school or bespoke) 

• Language acquisition and development support (Spoken, British Sign Language, Sign-Supported English, Total Communication) 

• Undertaking specialist assessments to assess a child’s functional hearing, literacy development, language development and access to learning in the classroom, to inform interventions 

• Advice and guidance on supporting access to the curriculum 

• Advice to settings on how they can make reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010 

• Loan Service of Assistive Listening Device equipment (i.e. radio-aids) to support the child’s access to communication and learning (as appropriate to need) 

• Multi-agency partnership working/ liaison 

• Supporting professionals with the SEND support process 

• EHCP involvement, such as the provision of statutory advice to the Local Authority and attendance at Annual Review meetings 

• Advice and guidance around transitions (for example, moving on from Year 6 to Year 7) 

• Advice and guidance with regards to Exam Access Arrangements 

• Direct teaching interventions 

• Hearing aid and radio-aid equipment checks/ maintenance to ensure the devices are working optimally 

• Teaching relating to Personal Understanding of Deafness (PUD) 

• Social-Emotional Support 

• British Sign Language Support  

• Deaf Awareness training