Our Vision

Our Resource Base for Deaf Children leads the school in providing a safe and language-rich environment for children with varying challenges around their hearing. We aim to provide our pupils with the opportunity to realise their full potential in their formative primary years by creating an inclusive whole-school environment and a broad and balanced multi-sensory curriculum appropriate to each child’s needs.

We believe that deaf students can achieve as well as their hearing peers and that deafness, of any type or level, can be seen as a characteristic that defines and enhances identity. At Newlands we learn that equal does not mean the same; some of us do things differently and we are a stronger team because of it.

Our Aims

· To develop the resilience and self-esteem of deaf children in line with their growing individual identities.

· To provide the children with full access to the National Curriculum as it is delivered through high quality teaching and learning. The school team will collaborate to use differentiation, scaffolding and communication support as needed.

· To identify individual needs of pupils and provide suitable programs of learning.

· To provide adjustments to the school day that allow Deaf children to have an equal chance of success.

· To provide a service of equipment support for cochlear implants, radio aids and hearing aids.

· To encourage the children to attain and achieve.

· To encourage children to become good communicators, both linguistically and emotionally.

· To prepare children for future learning and transfer to Secondary school.

Our deaf children are an integral part of the school, and our hearing pupils are always welcome within the provision. The deaf children are placed in age-appropriate mainstream classes, attend registration there and are supported in class as necessary. The amount of time spent in the provision depends on the needs of each child.

We believe in integrating our deaf pupils into the main school as fully as possible whilst withdrawing them to the Resource Base classrooms, when appropriate, for structured interventions and to support pupils’ individual needs.

Our Team

We have a Teacher in Charge, a Teacher of the Deaf and a growing team of Specialist Teaching Assistants, all with qualifications in BSL. Our provision is part of the Southampton Teacher Advisory Service which means we know our children well before their time at Newlands School, and afterwards too.

We work closely with the Southampton Audiology department which helps us to provide efficient care and maintenance of children’s equipment, and we also welcome regular visits from our linked NHS Specialist HI Speech and Language therapist and from The Southampton Auditory Implant Centre. By working together, we know that we are doing the best for our children and we welcome the input and feedback these colleagues can give.

Our Base

A purpose-built extension to the school is planned; which will give us 2 brand new classrooms with the same Smart Boards, IPads and computing facilities as the exisiting school. We will also have 3 additional rooms for 1:1 interventions and equipment checks. In the meantime, we have a dedicated temporary building with space for group activities, specialist teaching and our evolving bank of resources.

Our Provision

• A Total Communication Approach which encompasses spoken and written English, Lip-reading, British Sign Language, Signed Supported English and Signed English.
• Daily listening checks to ensure that children have the best possible access to their environment. Children take an increasingly active role in handling and caring for their equipment and their learning is underpinned by the Audiology Curriculum (Williams, Barlow and Minett 2019).
• Remote Microphone systems and in-class equipment such as Babbleguards to optimise listening.
• Joint target setting between the Teacher of the Deaf, classteachers, linked professionals and parents.
• Collaborative planning between Class Teachers, Teaching Assistants, Curriculum leaders and Teacher of the Deaf so that mainstream teaching and learning is accessible and exciting for deaf children.
• Reverse integration and regular mainstream Deaf Awareness Sessions for both staff and children.
• Shared Circle Times developing communication skills, listening awareness, empathy and empowerment.

“Newlands School has played the main role in my child’s huge progress with language”.

“I know this is the best place for my son. He is having the best experience of school. Everything he needs is here.”