The role of the service is a multi faceted one. It requires versatile personnel who have the ability to work closely with parents, schools and other professionals. It involves:
- Regular guidance and counselling sessions with parents and their pre- school hearing impaired children at home, focusing on facilitating linguistic development and ensuring optimum amplification.
- Regular individualized teaching of school aged children with sensori-neural hearing loss. The teacher of the deaf may have a direct teaching role or an indirect / monitoring role. A direct teaching role mostly involves withdrawal by the teacher of the deaf on an individual basis.
- Maximizing the use of residual hearing through the provision of consistent appropriate amplification.
- Provision of INSET to schools, health personnel and other professionals.
- Regular and ongoing collaboration with and training of, parents, teachers and classroom assistants.
- Responding to the Code of Practice by writing Education Plans, Statutory Advice, Annual Reviews and Transition Plan reports.
- Working in partnership with schools, NEELB Psychology and Special Education sections, Cochlear Implant Centre and Speech and Language Therapists.
- Modification of examination papers, advice and guidance to schools re concessions for Key Stage assessments and other public examinations (GCSEs, AS levels, A levels).
- Management of children with educationally significant conductive loss.
- Audiological and educational assessments of children referred by SCMO, schools, educational psychologists and parents.
- Training of health visitors and school nurses in screening tests of hearing when requested by SCMO.
Audiology Van
This is staffed by an Audiologist/Driver and a Teacher of the Deaf. It provides an excellent acoustic environment for the assessment of hearing loss. It also serves as a workshop containing a large amount of audiological equipment and spare parts necessary for monitoring and maintaining amplification systems.
The Audiology van provides a rapid response service for fault finding and repair, essential for the successful inclusion of hearing impaired children.
Technology
The NEELB recognises that the fulfilment of hearing impaired children's potential requires access to up-to-date technological equipment, allied to good practise amongst teachers of the deaf. The Board is therefore committed to the provision of such technology and to the investing in the continued professional development of teachers of the deaf.
