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Deaf and Hearing Loss Hub

At Cove School, we have a specialist provision for pupils who are Deaf or have Hearing Loss. Some schools refer to this as a Resource Base, Resources Centre or Hearing Impairment unit. We use the name, ‘Deaf and Hearing Loss Hub’ to reflect the identities of pupils in our school.

Our Vision

To enable our Deaf pupils and those with hearing loss to develop their full potential within a safe and secure environment in which they have a positive Deaf identity, ownership of their own learning and are valued members of the school community.

Our Aims

Or aim is for the Cove School Deaf and Hearing Loss Hub to be the first-choice destination for Deaf pupils and pupils with Hearing Loss in North Hampshire. We strive to see that our pupils with hearing loss are fully included in all aspects of the life of the school and derive full benefit from the experience which Cove School provides.

In the Deaf and Hearing Loss Hub, it is our aim that all of our pupils will:

Integrate into the mainstream school.
Access the school curriculum.
Become full and active members of the school community.

To do this, our pupils attend regular classes alongside their hearing peers and attend the Resource Base according to their individual needs. All the pupils have daily contact with the Teacher of the Deaf or a specialist Hearing Loss Learning Support Assistant.

There is a “Mixed Mode” or “Total communication” approach to communication in line with Hampshire's policy on communication.

Emphasis is placed on:

Maximum use of residual hearing through good use of appropriate technology.
Use of opportunities to develop good listening and conversational skills.
The provision of sign support British Sign Language (BSL) or Sign Supported English (SSE) where appropriate.
Pupil responsibility for monitoring equipment, such as hearing aids, cochlear implants and radio aids.
Learning opportunities tailored to individual needs.
Effective liaison between teaching staff, parents and pupils to provide a network of support and encouragement.

What do our pupils say?

I do better work when I have support in a lesson because the Unit staff really encourage me."

"I know I can always come to the Unit if I have any problems I want to talk through. I like the fact that I have deaf as well as hearing friends at school."

From a pupil who has recently arrived...
"I have settled in perfectly well. I find the support really useful because you help me when I don’t understand. I am happy to be here because I have made loads of friends."

to a pupil who has recently left:

"I came to a school where people cared about me. Students at Cove know what it’s like to have deaf pupils around them. I started to believe in myself. Now nothing can hold me back."

For further information, please click on the tabs below:

Several of our pupils come to Cove in taxis from all around North Hampshire and South West Surrey. Some of our pupils travel from Camberley, Fleet, Blackwater, Aldershot, Bordon, and Ash.

Pupils with Hearing Loss come to the hub each morning before the start of school to check that their hearing aids, speech processors and radio aids are working properly. We encourage as much pupil responsibility as possible to ensure the efficient functioning of their equipment. This is a good time to meet up with the hub staff and to talk through any particular concerns before the day gets underway.

Our pupils are supported in mainstream lessons by Learning Support Assistants or the Teacher of the Deaf. New language may be clarified or explained and new vocabulary noted down. Brief notes of the lesson may be taken to assist if reinforcement is needed in the hub. A check will be made to ensure that any home learning tasks have been accurately recorded and understood.

Pupils attend withdrawal lessons in the Deaf and Hearing Loss Hub according to individual need, for language development and tutorial support. Sessions may be used to reinforce new subject vocabulary, pre-teaching new concepts and follow up of areas which may have been found difficult.

At all times personal responsibility and independence skills are encouraged. Self-esteem and self-confidence develop when our pupils are able to demonstrate these skills to each other. Older pupils can be powerful role models and provide valuable peer support to younger ones.

The Teacher of the Deaf monitors receptive and expressive language skills, grammar, reading accuracy and comprehension. Pupils will regularly meet with a Deaf Instructor, who will teach about Deaf identity and culture, as well as sign language (if required).

Pupils attending the Deaf and Hearing Loss Hub are entitled to access arrangements during their GCSE examinations. These normally include additional time, the use of a separate room and a modified script, where appropriate. Some pupils may additionally qualify for a reader.

Finally, the teenage years can be a challenging time and pupils may undergo many changes of emotion and attitude, particularly as the demands of the work increase. Please let us know if there are any social or educational difficulties so that we can work together to support your child.

Deaf pupil signing Deaf instructor

We are proud of the close links that exist between the Deaf and Hearing Loss hub and the main school. Our team liaise regularly with mainstream teachers to ensure that the needs of the pupils with Hearing Loss are met. Heads of Year and Form Tutors are all involved in the support structure offered at Cove School.

Liaison with parents is of vital importance, both formally and through Parents’ Meetings, Information Evenings and Annual Review Meetings and informally at school social events. In addition, parents are welcome to make an appointment to see the Teacher of the Deaf at anytime throughout the year if they have any queries or concerns that they would like to discuss.

We foster and maintain good working relationships with a wide range of associated professionals including Audiologists, Speech and Language Therapists, Educational Psychologists, Local Authority Specialist Teacher Advisor and the Cochlear Implant Team (USAIS) at Southampton University.

Close links also exist with the Resource Base at Manor Junior School. The Teacher of the Deaf attends the Year 6 Annual Review meetings of the pupils who are expected to transfer to Cove School and also visits the pupils at Manor prior to transfer where pupils have the opportunity to spend a morning shadowing a pupil with Hearing Loss to get to know the staff and pupils, as well as to experience some of the lessons at Cove School. Later in the Summer Term, Year 6 pupils have the opportunity to attend a Liaison Day at Cove and parents are invited to a Liaison Evening. Year 6 parents are always welcome to make an appointment to see the Teacher of the Deaf if they need further information or have questions they would like to raise.

Links are fostered with local Further Education Colleges, including Farnborough Sixth Form College and Farnborough College of Technology, and representatives are invited to Annual Review Meetings where appropriate. Throughout their time at Cove, we help pupils to pursue their educational and vocational aspirations and provide appropriate careers advice.

Teacher of the Deaf:

Jon Noble

Jon Noble pic

Hearing Loss Learning Support Assistant:

Eileen Rawlins

Eileen Rawlins pic

Are young people who are in the Deaf and Hearing Loss Hub fully part of school life?

Yes! All are in mainstream tutor groups and lessons. They have friends inside the hub and across the school. They might bring friends along to the hub at break or lunch time to hang out.

Can you support young people who are Deaf and have English as an additional language?

Yes, as well as our specialist support for Deaf and hard of hearing students, we have been awarded the Gold Award for our work with pupils who speak English as an additional language.

Do students need to use BSL to join the Deaf and Hearing Loss Hub?

No, whilst we can support BSL users, pupils with Hearing Loss do not need to use sign language to be fully supported here.

Links to some useful websites:

Outer ear

This is the part of the ear that is visible with the naked eye or simple medical tools. It mostly consists of the ear lobe, ear canal, and ear drum. This is the part of the ear routinely checked during office visits.

Middle ear

The middle ear also includes the ear drum and three small bones, also known as the ossicles. These essential parts of the ear send movement inward to the inner ear.

Inner ear

The innermost part of the ear, this section is made up of the cochlea, canals that help with balance, and nerves that carry information to the brain.

Labyrinth

Part of the inner ear, the labyrinth is an organ that helps with balance. It consists of three small canals and the vestibule, which connects the labyrinth and cochlea.

Otoacoustic emissions

A normal response to sound, otoacoustic emissions occur when hair cells in the inner ear vibrate in response to sound. This in turn produces a very soft sound that echoes back. With mild or severe hearing loss, your ears will not produce any otoacoustic emissions, or OAEs.

Tympanic membrane

Also called the ear drum, this part of the ear separates the inner and outer ear. When sound reaches the eardrum, it causes the eardrum to vibrate and send those vibrations further into the ear.

Cochlea

This snail-shaped structure is located in the inner ear and houses the hearing organ.

Basal Region

Part of the cochlea, this structure detects higher frequency sounds, like nails on a chalkboard or whistles, and sends those signals to the brain.

Conductive hearing loss

This occurs when sounds cannot move from the outer ear to the middle ear. Causes might include an ear infection, fluid in the middle ear, an issue with the eardrum, or simply a significant buildup of wax.

Sensorineural hearing loss

This type of hearing loss occurs when the inner ear becomes damaged or adversely impacted in some way. While this can be caused by loud noises or head trauma, a genetic predisposition or deformity within the ear can also cause hearing loss, along with illness or some drugs.

Mixed hearing loss

This occurs when there are elements of both sensorineural and conductive hearing loss. Essentially, the outer hear cannot send sound to the inner ear properly, and the inner ear cannot process the sound and send it to the brain.

Bilateral

This term is used to describe when either both ears or both sides of the head are involved in hearing loss.

Residual hearing

This is a term audiologists may use to describe how much usable hearing a patient has measured against the hearing that was lost.

Auditory brainstem response (ABR)

Also called an auditory evoked potential (AEP), this is a type of hearing test used to determine the health of your inner ear and the auditory nerve that carries information to the brain.

Hearing aid terminology

Cochlear Implant (CI)

Surgically implanted into the cochlea, cochlear implants turn sound waves into electrical impulses and then send them to the inner ear, bypassing the outer and middle ear altogether.

Behind–The–Ear Hearing Aid/BTE Hearing Aid

The earmold, a small bud that goes in the ear canal, is connected to the bulk of the hearing aid, which is located above or behind the ear.

On–The–Ear (OTE)/Open Ear Hearing Aid

This newer type of hearing aid has a more inconspicuous design with a thinner tubing and the electronics placed lower behind the ear.

In–The–Ear (ITE) Hearing Aid

A smaller hearing aid that sits within the pinna and ear canal. These hearing aids are still visible to the naked eye, but come in a variety of colors designed to make them blend in with skintone.

In–The–Canal (ITC) Hearing Aid

These hearing aids fill up a portion of both the ear canal and bowl of the outer ear, making them smaller and more subtle than ITE hearing aids.

Bi-CROS

Designed for someone who has hearing loss in one, but not both ears, these hearing aids work to provide equal residual hearing to the wearer.

Linear Hearing Aid

This type of hearing aid amplifies sound regardless of the pitch. Sound can be amplified by percentage, but the device amplifies by the same amount regardless of the signal or what other sounds are simultaneously present. In other words, it doesn’t filter sound.

Receiver

The receiver is the speaker inside the hearing aid that picks up and provides sound to the wearer.

Feedback

Often heard in online meetings or over other speaker devices, feedback is the result of a device picking up its own output and re-amplifying the sound. This can occur with hearing aids as well.

Feedback Suppressor

Some newer hearing aids feature a feedback suppressor designed to reduce feedback for the wearer.

Impression

Audiologists and healthcare professionals create an impression of the concha and ear canal to produce a custom fit hearing aid designed to fit the patient’s ear property, improving comfort and performance.