SEND Deaf Baby and Toddler Group
This term has seen the relaunch of the Sensory Support Team’s Baby and Toddler Group, held at Woodside Children’s Centre. The fortnightly session is for deaf babies and toddlers from Haringey and Enfield and their parents/carers and offers valuable opportunities for families to come together and share experiences.
The group is run by a Qualified Teacher of the Deaf (QToD) and a Deaf Education Instructor (DEI), and activities are designed to facilitate parent-child interaction using both spoken and signed languages. The children have loved the signed story times and families have enjoyed learning signed songs that can be used at home.
Parents and carers were consulted prior to the relaunch. This feedback directly informed decisions about timings, purpose, and content of the sessions.
The response from parents and carers has been extremely positive, with many reporting that they benefit from the relaxed environment, access to a wide range of play activities, and the opportunity to explore good communication.
Key skills can be woven into the provision, such as the development of joint attention for supporting language acquisition. The QToD and DEI are able to guide and model ways for encouraging these strategies.
With the identification of deafness happening soon after birth, through the Newborn Hearing Screening Programme, families can attend throughout their child’s first years.
We know from previous cohorts that parents and children who join regularly form close friendships which often last for many years. The group also opens up access to the wider deaf community through links with other parents and carers who are involved with the North London Deaf Children’s Society (external link) and the National Deaf Children’s Society (external link), which are both important sources of information and support.
Looking to the future, the Sensory Support Team plans to invite external professionals from local services for deaf children, including the Specialist Speech and Language Therapist, to further enrich the provision for families. Parents and carers will continue to play a crucial role in reviewing the offer and ensuring it continues to meet the needs of deaf children locally.
For further details please contact the Sensory Support Team Manager Bharti Solanki – bharti.solanki@haringey.gov.uk