The overall aim of the Team is to be involved with all children in the City who have significant sensory impairments (hearing and vision impairment).
The team aim to give children, their parents, families and teachers advice and support needed to minimise the effects of a childs difficulties within the educational setting.
The Team is involved with children from birth to the time they leave the education system. Work takes the team into homes, nurseries and schools where they offer advice and guidance to ensure a child has the best possible access to learning. This may range from advice on the management of the classroom and curriculum materials to specialist help or equipment.
The team work in partnership with agencies such as Audiology, ENT, Speech Therapy, Sunderland Eye Infirmary, Paediatricians etc.
The Team's assessment materials monitor the child's progress within home and educational settings. Parents and school staff are offered advice and information on the type and degree of sensory loss as well as teaching strategies to help minimise the impact of the impairment.
When the Sensory Team have sufficient numbers of children, they run a preschool group for 3 to 4 year olds who have a hearing loss. The group aims to follow on from early intervention within the home. The Team's specialists in preschool deaf education will also visit parent led preschool groups when invited.
The Team are usually able to offer specific information on the child's hearing and visual impairments as well as general leaflets on the management of hearing and visual impairment. Depending on the child's need direct teaching is available for some children. The Team are available to offer training on all aspects of sensory impairments.
Criteria for access
The Children's Sensory Team will only become involved on receiving a medical report giving details of the child's hearing or visual loss and parental permission to share this information.
If a child is suspected of having a hearing or visual loss a referral should be made by the child's GP, to the relevant departments at Sunderland Royal Hospital, or Sunderland Eye Infirmary.
In the unusual event of a child arriving in school with hearing aids (including a child coming in from another area) and the school have not heard from the Team, the school can get in touch with the team directly.
Universal services
All children are allocated a support package according to their need which includes an amount of time from a specialist teacher.
Targeted services
These services may include:
Specialist services
These services may include:
We also have two resourced provisions for Deaf/Hearing Impaired Children
For further details of the criteria for accessing these Resource Provisions please contact The Children's Sensory Impairment Team.
