Selecting a school to meet your child’s needs

Be prepared!

Begin your research early. This will allow you to gather information, talk to other parents, visit schools and discuss with your team of professionals before the pressure of making any final decisions. When the time comes you will want to feel confident that you are giving your child the best possible chance in a learning environment that will maximise their potential whilst fostering their confidence and encouraging independence.

Take a tip

For further information, we recommend looking at the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) website www.ndcs.org.uk where they have many publications about what to consider when choosing your child’s first school.

Keep an open mind

You know your child better than anyone else. However, try to keep an open mind until you have done your research. You need to see the schools and meet the people before you can be sure of the right setting for your child.

Listen to what your supporting professionals have to say – they will have considerable experience and may raise issues you hadn’t thought of before. Talk to parents with children at the schools you are visiting. The more detailed the picture you have, the easier it will be for you to make a decision.

Think about your child’s mode of communication

You should consider the choices you have made so far regarding the mode of communication you have chosen for your child. This will influence your choice of school and the sort of support you feel your child might need within that setting.

What is available locally?

Provision for deaf children in school can differ greatly from area to area and you need to understand what your Local Authority offers. In addition to mainstream primary schools there may be mainstream schools with specialist provision for deaf children (HI Units). Or perhaps you are interested in a specialist school for deaf children or a small private school. Make sure you are aware of all that is available in your area.

Try to visit as many different types of school as possible – even if you don’t think they are suitable for your child. It will broaden your knowledge of how school provision differs and will help you to prioritise what is important for you and your child.

Prepare for your visits to the schools. Write a list of what you want to know and take it with you! It will make comparisons between schools easier and ensure you don’t forget anything. Make sure you see the whole school – remember, your child will probably spend time in most rooms! And make sure you meet the key staff, including the Head Teacher and the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO). The SENCO will be responsible for ensuring your child receives the right support. They will also liaise with visiting professionals, coordinate meetings and communicate with you. It is important that you feel able to work closely with them. Pay attention to the questions they ask you. Searching questions mean they have thought about what might be involved in educating a deaf child and is a good sign!

It’s a family affair!

Your choice of education has to work for the whole family. The educational setting must be right for your deaf child, but if it is a long way away and adds too much stress to the logistics you need to be sure the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. If you have other hearing children is it important that all your children go to the same school? This needs to be considered when making decisions around schools.

There are some steps you can take to help make your child’s transition into school go as smoothly as possible.

Getting the right support for your child in school

The type and level of support your child will need will depend on the type of school you choose, your child’s chosen mode of communication, and how well developed their listening, speech, signing, social and communication skills are. However, at the very least, it is likely you are going to want your Teacher of the Deaf to visit.

Other support might involve a Speech and Language Therapist, one-to-one support in the classroom from a Learning Support Assistant (LSA), signing support via a Communicator, technology such as an FM system and a Soundfield System – the list goes on.

Once you are clear on the school and what support you would like in place for your child, there is a good chance you are going to need to go through the official system to get their needs formally assessed and agree levels of support.

This process requires you, and all the various professionals currently helping your child, to provide reports for your Local Authority (LA) detailing your child’s needs and explaining what additional support you all think she will need at school. Your Teacher of the Deaf and chosen school can help guide you through this process.

Take a tip

You can also go to the Department for Education website  and download the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice. Again, this process can take time and is another reason not to leave things too late.

What would help you make your decision?

Think about what information you need to make your decision and don’t be afraid to ask for this information. It may be you would like to have a better idea of how your child performs when background noise is present. Certainly the acoustics of the different schools will be a critical part of your decision-making and knowing your child’s individual capabilities is important. Your audiologist should be able to assess this and the schools should be able to provide information on acoustics in their classrooms.

Preparing your child for transition to school

Once you have decided on the school there is a lot you can do to help prepare your child for the move up to ‘big’ school:

• Contact the SENCO and work together. Most schools will organise transition visits so that children can familiarise themselves with the classroom and meet their teacher.
• Ask the SENCO to make an Experience Book for your child. Include photographs of the key areas of the school, pictures of her teacher and any other staff members who will be involved with supporting your child (due to child protection issues, it is unlikely they will let you have pictures of the other children).
• There are things you can do at home as well. Look at the experience book together and talk about the people and the places. Try and spend time going over familiar games, books, fairy tales and songs that they might experience in their first term at school – again the SENCO can give you ideas for these.
• Ask for information about any work they will be covering in the first few weeks (e.g. books they might read, topics they might cover) and see if you can help prepare your child by going over key vocabulary and familiarising them with the stories and facts.

It’s your choice

Your child’s education is critical to their future and finding the right setting can be daunting. However, if you start early, gather information and engage the help of the professionals supporting your child, the process will go much more smoothly. But above all, remember that having gathered all the information, and listened to what others’ have to say, you then need to make a choice based on your child’s individual needs and those of your family.

Key points to remember

• Choosing an educational setting for your child takes time and preparation: gather information, keep notes, visit schools, ask questions.
• Consider your child’s primary mode of communication and how that can be best supported.
• Prepare your child for their school experience: teach songs, stories and new concepts at home so your child will be comfortable with similar activities when they encounter them at school.
• Keep an open mind and be prepared to make changes as your child’s needs change.
• Remember – good communication between you, your professionals and your school is vital.
• Be positive about the choice you make!