“The first section of the course with information about hearing loss and levels, the different types of hearing aid equipment and ways of assessing was useful and interesting. The case studies were interesting to watch and to hear the opinions and thoughts of young deaf people, however, I found this section to be less relevant to my role. The children in the examples were all older and more capable, whereas many of the deaf children we see have more complex needs. However, I did find it particularly useful in this instance to hear the parents’ views and to be reminded of how overwhelming it can all be at this stage and the number of professionals involved within a child's life. It has made me think about the environment in home visits and currently video calls, and the importance of joint visiting with specialist teachers and working together.
“The training gave me the information and time to explore and develop my own knowledge whilst also thinking about the school I work in. It gave me time to reflect on school policy and procedures as well as my own role and development. The information was clear and user friendly. I think the target sections were very useful in making sure the knowledge I have gained will have an impact on the school and my own development. I have led some training for support staff and we have also looked at the resources we are currently in school. We have also spoken more about mental health between staff and these conversations seem to happen more freely.
“I have improved in confidence with creating SMART targets following assessment and suggesting specific strategies of intervention to support children to meet their SMART targets.
“I now have a wealth of ideas to put into place with pupils. I had not heard of the jump ahead programme, So I will look into that in more detail to see if it can be introduced.