Deaf and Hearing Impairment Team

COVID-19 - BSL Interpreting Service: details about www.BSLHealthAccess.co.uk online on demand interpreting service for UK’s Deaf Community

Welcome to the DAHIT section of the Allerton Grange School website

Allerton Grange is a resourced school for deaf and hearing impaired children. Children are taxied in from all over the city if they need more support than could be offered in their local mainstream school. Many of the children are bilingual using both English and British Sign Language (BSL)in their everyday life. We have a bilingual policy which develops the use and understanding of both languages, as well as using the languages to access the mainstream curriculum.

To book a personal visit please send an email using the following link: dahit@allertongrange.com
We look forward to seeing you.

Kim Davis, Lead Teacher of the Deaf

See our photo gallery at the bottom of this page

What does the service do?

The Deaf and Hearing Impaired Team (DAHIT) is a team of specialist staff, including teachers, communication support workers and deaf instructors, who work to promote the educational inclusion and achievement of children and young people with a diagnosed hearing loss.

We support children who are deaf or hearing impaired from the time of diagnosis to when they leave school. The team work with children at Allerton Grange School and in their homes. We conduct assessments and provide advice for Education Health and Care (EHC) Plans for children and young people aged 11 to 19.

The level of support offered to each child and family is based on the child’s needs in relation to their deafness, their stage of development and the knowledge and support that they have around them.

Teacher of the Deaf (ToD)

The role of a ToD is to provide specialist input for deaf and hearing impaired children enabling them to achieve the best possible educational and other outcomes. We plan, deliver and evaluate specialist teaching and provide support programmes for children. We assess and monitor the individual needs and progress of deaf and hearing impaired children and provide reports and on-going advice as appropriate.

At Allerton Grange School (resourced provision) we also provide training and ongoing advice to the mainstream staff, other professionals and families. We work in partnership with mainstream staff to promote the maximum educational access, inclusion, development and progress of deaf and hearing impaired learners. We promote the social and emotional welfare of children, including their independence, self-esteem and emotional resilience.

Deaf Instructor (DI)

The role of a Deaf Instructor is to promote effective communication skills for deaf and hearing impaired children, and to teach, develop and facilitate the use of BSL for deaf children and monitor and report the progress of these learners.

Deaf Instructors also provide additional teaching and support of mainstream curriculum material and concepts through the use of sign. They deliver and/or assist with the delivery of deaf awareness training to mainstream colleagues.

Communication Support Workers (CSW)

The role of a CSW is to facilitate access for deaf learners through sign language; To provide communication support for staff, pupils and parents in a variety of situations and adapt materials and delivery of curriculum content.

Curriculum
Deaf students predominantly follow the same curriculum as their hearing peers and are taught in mainstream for most of the curriculum, additional support is also given to all Deaf children in base. English is taught discretely within base lessons by a qualified teacher of the deaf. As many deaf children learn English as a second language they need the time, pace, delivery and understanding of their specific learning styles to be delivered in bespoke sessions . Many deaf students struggle with their literacy as BSL has a different structure to English and no written form, so unlike other bilinguals their skills in their first language cannot be transferred into their second language.

The staff team is made up of different roles to facilitate this access

DAHIT staff 2021-22

Henri Grumbridge – Teacher of the Deaf
Sarah Scott - Teacher of the Deaf
Karen Hunt - Senior Deaf Instructor
Sidra Ahmed – Deaf Instructor
Mohammed Basser - Deaf Instructor
Dwain Read - Teaching Assistant
Kathy Burgess – Communication Support Worker
Naomi Todd - Communication Support Worker
Rebecka Best - Communication Support Worker
Josie Jokomba - Communication Support Worker
Rose Priestley - Communication Support Worker
Beth Cartwright - Communication Support Worker
Abby Booth - Communication Support Worker

Useful links: (click to view)

Contact us:-

Allerton Grange School

DAHIT

Talbot Avenue

Leeds

West Yorkshire

LS17 6SF

Telephone:- 0113 393 0304

Email:- dahit@allertongrange.com

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