The Specialist Advisory Teaching Service
Service for Hearing Impaired Children

The service is part of the County Council's Children's Service and is informed by the health professionals usually within 48 hours of a diagnosis. They contact parents or carers to ask if they would like a home visit shortly afterwards.

Experienced specialist teachers are trained to work with the families of babies and children who are being fitted with hearing aids. They provide a home visiting service.

They can help with information from the hospital.
Many families value regular home visits and these are arranged to suit each individual family.

This specialist teacher’s role is to:
Listen and provide advice and support to the family.
If requested, to provide contacts with other families in a similar situation.
Provide information on a range of topics related to deaf children and their development so families can make informed decisions about their child.
Help the family be sure that the best use is made of the hearing aids.
Monitor the development of the child’s listening, their communication and their speech development and advise the family on how they can encourage the child to move on to the next stage of development.
Give information about options regarding Nurseries and future schooling.
Liaise with all those involved with the child and the family so that everyone understands each other and can work as a team.

The above service will continue to provide information, advice and support to families according to their needs throughout their child's education life. They will provide information about early years' settings (playgroups, nurseries etc.) in conjunction with Sure Start.

Cumbria County Council's Childrens Information Service holds details about a wide range of provision for children and families in Cumbria, including Special Needs advice.

www.cumbria.gov.uk/education/sure-start