The Royal Borough of Greenwich has a range of specialist provision for children and young people who are Deaf, which include:
The Sensory Service
The teachers of the deaf and outreach worker from the Sensory Service team visit deaf children in mainstream nurseries, mainstream schools and local special schools. How often they visit is based on assessment using a guidance document called the NATSIP Eligibility Framework. Some children have weekly visits with specific teaching support. Others may need termly or annual visits alongside monitoring and staff training. This will be assessed on an ongoing basis; the regularity of visits can be adapted to fit the child or young person's changing needs. The staff who visit could be a Qualified Teacher of the Deaf, a Specialist Outreach Worker for Deaf Children, and/or a Deaf Instructor.
The service is broadly divided into an offer to schools which includes:
- creating Personal Learning Plans to match individual children’s learning needs
- support from a specialist teacher of the Deaf or Specialist Outreach Worker
- written advice from a specialist teacher, Occupational Therapist, and/or Speech and Language Therapist
- provision of specialist technology resources such as assistive listening devices
- training for staff at a whole school level and/or for individual staff
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And an offer to families which includes:
- regular home visits in the preschool years
- structured support for transitions.
- provision of specialist resources to support at home
- regular parent meetings to learn more about Deafness and meet other families
Designated Specialist Deaf provision within mainstream schools for students who are Deaf:
Some Deaf children benefit from daily support in specialist provisions within the borough. Admissions to DSP’s are made through the Royal Borough of Greenwich SEND assessment and review department.
The criteria for placement in specialst provision is as follows:
The child or young person will
- have a diagnosis of Deafness.
- normally have an EHCP with Deafness as primary need.
The child or young person should have potential to access and engage in some mainstream learning with appropriate support, as part of their day will be in mainstream, and part within a special class each day.
There are three designated special provisions for Deaf children in Greenwich at James Wolfe Primary School, Meridian Primary School and Thomas Tallis School. There is also dedicated Deaf Support at Shooters Hill College. To learn more about the specialist provisions please follow these web links:
Age Range 3 to 11 years
Age Range 3 to 11 years
Age Range 11 to 16 years (occasionally to 18)
Age Range 16 to 19 years (occasionally slightly older)