BATOD Association Magazine 2024
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SPOTLIGHT
Paul Simpson – a leader in deaf education 02
Sue Archbold, Leo De Raeve and Brian Lamb share some recollections of a great man, who contributed so much and left the world a better place, from early work with children with cochlear implants, a member of the council of FEAPDA, on the BATOD Committee from the 1990s then as secretary as well as Magazine Editor and it is thanks to Paul that BATOD was able to be influential in policy matters at a time of great change.
The benefits of a specialist setting whilst learning to listen 05
Julie Hughes, Chief Executive, describes the offer available from The Elizabeth Foundation who provide a specialist programme that to prepare young deaf children for school entry and empower parents to make informed decisions on behalf of their deaf child.
A broad and balanced curriculum 8
Leanne Chorekdjian-Jojaghaian describes teaching deaf awareness and British Sign Language (BSL) lessons to key stage 1 (KS1) mainstream classes as an afterschool enrichment club to staff, pupils, and parents and now in a weekly slot on the timetable that explores deaf awareness further and on a deeper level.
Staff self-confidence survey 10
Jo Rutkowska, QToD, summaries a resource used within her setting to gauge the confidence levels of mainstream staff to inform priorities for further training, and to upskill them in supporting our deaf pupils.
Wireless Group Aid Listening Technology 12
Lynn Gambles, Head of Audiology at Mary Hare School, discusses the new wireless Group Aid and its impact on the learning environment for both students and staff within the classroom as it students to hear the teacher and each other and gives greater access to peer-to-peer learning and an inclusive learning environment.
The mental health of deaf children: ‘Inclusion’ or ‘equality of experience’? 15
Sharon Blunsum, QToD, poses a question to the QToD profession as to whether it is time to re-think the term ‘inclusion’ and replace this with ‘equality of experience’?
Outstanding grading 16
Sue McQueenie provides an overview of Rolle House’s achievement which provides specialist residential care for young Deaf people who have learning disabilities, autism, physical disabilities, and/or additional needs such as behavioural, emotional, or social challenges in a warm, homely, and caring environment at Rolle House in the Devon seaside town of Exmouth.
Developing specialists in a specialist setting 18
Caireen Sutherland and Michelle Jones describe a new course offer heavily focused on the practical application of the MQ standards. The course will be a distance-learning course, with the theory reinforced by very practical application of the learning, relevant to the day-to-day role of QTMSIs.
COURSE PROVIDERS
Responding to the needs of busy practitioners 19
Dr Emmanouela Terlektsi and Angie Wootten provide an overview of the PGDip/MA University of Birmingham course which is delivered using a blended learning approach and also offers training to qualified teachers who would like to further qualify to teach deaf learners in England from 0–25 (Mandatory Qualification Award).
What is happening at the University of Leeds 22
Helen Niemiec, Lecturer in Deaf Education on the PGDip/MA in Deaf Education (QToD) course provides an insight to a fresh look that promotes students’ continued involvement with research and professional development and aim to facilitate the growth of a community of practice in deaf education.
Manchester Deaf Education 2023 25
Dr Helen Chilton and Dr Lindsey Jones provide an overview of the offer from The University of Manchester which involves learners in a wide and varied curriculum, applying the latest research to practice, students can study on campus or on a fully e-blended distance route to fit with work and life commitments.
Study at Mary Hare to help ‘secure the future for deaf children and young people’ 28
The Courses team members outline their offer and the new opportunities on the horizon with a wide range of courses from MA/MSc, ToD, EdAud and BTEC for Teaching Assistants Working with Sensory Impaired Children and Young People.
Studying to become a Qualified Teacher of Deaf Children and Young People 30
Rachel O’Neill, at the University of Edinburgh, provides an overview of the only mandatory qualification course in Scotland called the Postgraduate Diploma in Inclusive Education (Deaf learners pathway).
GENERAL
Preparing for the world of work 32
Jasper, a deaf young person, shares his journey on preparation for employment including exploring placements and work experience and a week with AVUK working with their different teams – from information technology (IT) and communications to the clinical and training teams.
An item I cannot live without 33
A deaf young person shares an honest and beautiful personal writing piece for the Unit 4 GCSE English exam in which she describes what her hearing aids mean to her.
What supports hearing parents raising children who are deaf? 34
Dr Julia Terry shares an overview of her research study based on deaf children in Wales which analysed interviews with parents and people who work with deaf children and looks at the two main themes that affects hearing parents with deaf children – enablers and barriers – and how those either support or hinder the families involved.
A.R.R.O.W. programme
Colin Lane, QToD, describes a self-voice teaching system, which is a leading strategy for rapidly improving literacy skills, including phonological awareness, word recognition, comprehension, and spelling and shares an overview of a recent case study example which produced outstanding improvements in literacy and speech as well as considerable user satisfaction.
Young deaf children receiving cochlear implants: quality standards for their rehabilitation 40
Leo De Raeve, Director of ONafhankelijk Informatiecentrum over Cochleaire Implantatie (ONICI/Independent Information Centre for Cochlear Implantation), explains the process involved with creating the quality standards. This article was first published in the Cochlear Implanted Children’s Support Group (CICS) Bits and pieces September 2023 edition.
Advice for professionals 43
The National Deaf Children’s Society’s Helpline team provide an overview of their service offering advice which spans a wide variety of issues, including disability benefits, SEN, technology and equipment and disability discrimination issues for parents and deaf young people but also supports professionals as well who are working with a deaf child or young person.
Supporting deaf multilingual children 44
Beth Kilmartin, Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist (Deafness), outlines an ‘Audit of Teachers of the Deaf and Speech and Language Therapists’ with specific focus on deaf multilingual children who are learning more than one spoken language and how this impacts not only their language skills but also their mental health.
BAEA 2023 47
British Association of Educational Audiology (BAEA) summarise the webinar event for their 2023 annual general meeting.
INTERNATIONAL
Duncan’s journey 50
Alison Lindberg, after an unplanned visit to a school for the deaf in Rwanda, reflects on her own son’s experiences in America which included home play and learning strategies, cochlear implants, schooling options (oral versus deaf/American Sign Language (ASL) versus public school), therapies and results, growing up in a hearing world, mobile devices and current technology.
Sign language storybooks collaboration 56
Dr Patrick Graham, Rochester Institute of Technology National Technical Institute for the Deaf (RIT/NTID) and Erin Anderson Williams provide an overview of the recently published standards for sign language storybook production and the World Around You (WAY) platform.
TECHNOLOGY UPDATE
Is there a role for the Manchester Junior word list? 59
Peter Keen, Educational Audiologist, and member of the British Association of Educational Audiologists (BAEA), offered this response to the following questions: “With the use of nonsense words in primary education, is there a role for the Manchester Junior Word Lists in the Educational Audiology Toolkit?”
REGULARS
Representing you 60
BATOD membership 61
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