Gloucestershire Advisory Teaching Service Hearing Impairment Team

The Hearing Impairment Team is part of the Advisory Teaching Service which is a countywide Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) advisory support service. Support is available for children and young people with a diagnosed hearing loss at all stages of the Gloucestershire Pathway. The team consists of qualified specialist advisory teachers of the deaf and multi-sensory impairment, deaf communications tutor, specialist speech and language therapists.

What’s important to us:

We enable all children and young people to participate and achieve in all aspects of life

  • By developing their skills and those of their families, schools and settings
  • Through collaborative working in which the voice of the child or young person is paramount

We do this by being:

  • Positive: believing in the potential of all people and in our skills as a Service
  • Pro-active: developing the capacity of families, schools, settings and systems to meet the needs of all children and young people
  • Collaborative: engaging with others as partners
  • Professional: consistently providing a high standard of support as individuals and a Service and promoting equality of opportunity
  • Accountable: demonstrating that the Service makes a difference
  • Innovative: continually looking to improve the way things are done and finding new ways to do them

What we do:

  • Provide support for children and young people from the confirmation of a permanent hearing impairment until they leave school or further education college (0-25yrs)
  • We work closely with families of pre-school children, helping them to understand the diagnosis, and then offering advice and support to develop communication strategies and language skills
  • Support, advise and empower children and young people (CYP), to understand their hearing impairment and audiological equipment
  • We work closely with families, school staff, speech therapists and medical professionals enabling us to offer tailored and targeted support and advice aimed at helping children and young people achieve their full potential
  • Provide monthly early years (0-5yrs) support group for parents/carers of children with a hearing impairment and children
  • Provide developmental and educational advice in relation to the CYP’s hearing impairment
  • Ensure that the views, wishes, perspectives and experiences of the CYP are fully considered in their provision
  • Support CYP to develop a positive understanding of their hearing impairment and identity.
  • Provide, monitor and evaluate use of specialist audiological equipment e.g. radio aids
  • We offer and provide a range of training from individual training around a CYP’s needs to whole school and area based specialist courses to support continuing professional development in relation hearing impairment

Who we offer this service to:

We work with CYP who have:

  • A diagnosed permanent hearing loss
  • An ongoing temporary hearing loss that is likely to impact on a CYP’s education

How and when we do it:

  • We work in homes, early years settings, schools and other educational settings. This is available during term time
  • A referral service is provided to cover the school holiday periods for any newly diagnosed babies under the Newborn Hearing Screening Programme
  • The level of support offered to each child and young person and family is based on the CYP’s needs in relation to their hearing loss, their stage of development and the knowledge and support that they have around them.

Who we work with:

  • We work collaboratively with other agencies involved with the CYP:
  • Audiologists
  • Ear, Nose and Throat Consultants
  • Paediatricians
  • Cochlear Implant Teams
  • Speech and Language Therapists
  • Portage Workers
  • Health Visitors
  • Educational Psychologists
  • Early Help Advisors
  • Deaf CAMHS
  • Newborn Hearing Screening Team
  • We liaise with a range of other agencies and voluntary organisations:
  • National Deaf Children’s Society
  • Gloucestershire Deaf Association
  • Active Gloucestershire
  • Action on Hearing Loss
  • Auditory Verbal Therapy

How to contact us:

Advisory Teaching Service
Battledown Centre
Harp Hill, Cheltenham, Glos. GL52 6PZ
 01242 525456
 01242 239309
/ Advisory Teaching Service
Dockham Road
Cinderford, Glos. GL14 2DB
 01594 823102
 01594 826186

Advisory Teaching Service
Matson Lane, Matson,
Gloucester, GL4 6DX
 01452 426955
 01452 426842
/ Advisory Teaching Service
Redwood House, Room F01,
First Floor, Beeches Green,
Stroud, Glos. GL5 4AE
 01452 583728

Who can refer and how:

  • Health Services at the time of diagnosis, signed referral form
  • Schools, through the Advisory Teaching Service Referral Form

If you have concerns regarding your child’s hearing your first port of call should be the GP. If necessary your GP will refer your child to specialist audiology services within your area who will refer to our team as appropriate. As a parent/carer you will be asked for consent for health services to contact a Teacher of the Deaf. The teacher offering support in your area will then contact you directly.

Key words

Hearing Impaired

Hearing Loss

Deaf

Deafness

Sensori-Neural

Conductive

Glue Ear

Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder

Teacher of the Deaf

Deaf Communications Tutor

Sign Language

Signed Supported English

Total Communication

Speech and Language Therapist

Hearing Aid(s)

Cochlear Implant(s)

Bone Conduction

Bone Anchored Hearing Aid(s)

Radio Aids

FM Systems

Soundfield Systems

Hearing Test

ABR (Auditory Brain Response)

Audiology

Inclusion

Gloucestershire Graduated Pathway

My Plan

My Plan+

Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP

Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Disability

National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS)

Gloucestershire Deaf Association (GDA)

Cirencester Deaf Children’s Club

Children Hearing Services Working Group