Sensory Support Service Hearing & Vision

We are a specialist peripatetic service supporting children with sensory impairments, from the age of detection to leaving full time education. We work with children and young people aged between 0 and 19 in the home, pre-school and mainstream and special school settings.

The Service was created in January 2007 and combines the Hearing Impairment Service and Visual Impairment Service.

The Service has also developed a good working relationship with health professionals who serve children and young people's physical needs. Therefore we are able to provide advice jointly to schools in relation to some children's physical and sensory needs.

What the Service offers

• Support and advice to parents, families, school staff and carers
• Assessment, intervention programmes, classroom instruction, ongoing monitoring and reporting
• Training for teachers and staff
• A link with many other outreach programmes, government agencies, care providers, as well as local and national societies
• Specialist support for individual needs

Role of Sensory Support - Hearing

The Service works closely with parents, class teachers, speech and language therapists and the audiologist to support children and young people from 0-19 who have a significant hearing loss which impacts on their learning and ability to acquire age-appropriate language skills.

The Service has a qualified teacher of the deaf and trained teaching assistants able to offer advice and support in the classroom or at home for pre-school children, where needed. Support varies according to need and the degree of hearing loss.

A hearing loss, if not managed effectively, can affect language and literacy development.

Many young children suffer from 'glue ear' which can often affect language development.

Children with a permanent significant loss will require hearing aids or a cochlear implant to access speech.

The Services offers 'deaf awareness' training to all schools. It has built up a useful resource library available on loan to all parents and schools.

How Can We Help?

If you think your child has a hearing loss:

• Talk to the class teacher

They may with your consent

• Ask the School Nurse to conduct a hearing test
• Discuss with the school SENCO
• Contact Sensory Support-Hearing

Role of Sensory Support - Vision

The Service works closely with parents, class teachers, speech and language therapists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, PEH Orthoptic and the Guernsey Blind Association to support children and young people from 0-19 who have a significant vision loss which impacts on their learning and ability to acquire age-appropriate skills.

The Service has a qualified teacher for visual impairments and trained teaching assistants able to offer advice and support in the classroom or at home for pre-school children, where needed. Support varies according to need and degree of vision loss.

Vision is part of a whole sensory and physical experience and does not operate in isolation. Therefore, children and young people need materials and instruction adapted to their visual and physical needs.

Life Skills, Braille, Orientation and Mobility and ICT skills are taught alongside the Bailiwick of Guernsey Curriculum, where appropriate. This expanded curriculum is in place to ensure that visually impaired children and young people learn skills that sighted pupils learn incidentally and develop alternative skills, where needed.

The Service offers 'visual impairment awareness' training to all schools and outreach services and liaises with other agencies to provide instruction and resources to visually impaired individuals.

How Can We Help?

If you think your child has a vision loss:

• Talk to the class teacher

They may with your consent

• Ask the School Nurse to conduct a vision test
• Discuss with the school SENCO
• Contact Sensory Support-Vision

The Sensory Support Service Team

The team consists of:

• 1 teacher for the deaf
• 1 teacher for the visually impaired
• 8 teaching assistants

The team works together with:

• Health & Social Services Department
• Guernsey Blind Association
• Royal National Institute for the Blind
• Guernsey Deaf Children's Society
• Guernsey Hard of Hearing Association
• Guernsey Hearing Dogs for the Deaf
• UK Universities and Colleges

When and How?

The Service offers an open referral system through personal contact, telephone, email or letter supported by a completed referral form and supporting evidence as required.

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