Education and school support

Ask what your child can access

Classroom access is more than sitting near the teacher. Ask what happens during group work, practical lessons, assemblies, playground time, lunch and trips.

• Clear sight of the speaker, interpreter or person signing.
• Communication support and staff skills matched to the child’s assessed needs.
• Good acoustics and appropriate use of hearing technology where relevant.
• Visual information and accessible explanations of new vocabulary.
• Time to process, ask questions and recover from sustained listening or visual attention.
• Plans for instructions, alarms and safety when communication is missed.

Primary school: language and literacy

Ask how teaching builds on the language your child can already access. Reading support should connect written words with meaning. A single phonics approach may not meet every deaf child’s needs.

Discuss assessment and teaching with the Teacher of the Deaf, school SENCO and relevant specialists. Ask what evidence shows that the approach is helping your child understand text and express ideas.

SEND support and EHCPs

Schools can provide SEND support without an Education, Health and Care Plan. An EHC needs assessment considers whether more support is needed than can be provided through ordinary SEND support.

In England, parents can request an EHC needs assessment from the local authority. If a plan is to be issued, the general statutory timescale is 20 weeks from receipt of the assessment request, subject to specified exceptions. Ask SENDIASS about the timescales and rights that apply to your situation.

Seek clear descriptions of needs, outcomes and provision: what support is required, who will deliver it, how often, for how long and with what expertise.

Choosing a setting

Mainstream schools, resource provision and specialist schools offer different environments. Suitability depends on your child’s needs, the actual provision and your child’s experience of access and belonging.

• Observe ordinary lessons and unstructured time, not just a guided tour.
• Ask how many adults and peers your child can communicate with directly.
• Check the qualifications and language skills of the people providing support.
• Ask how the setting reviews language, learning and emotional wellbeing.
• Include your child’s views in a way they can express comfortably.

The Local Offer is the starting point for current Stockport provision. Admission and placement decisions need individual advice; a directory listing is not an offer of a place.

Prepare for a school meeting

• Bring two or three examples of what is going well and what is difficult.
• Include your child’s views, with communication support if needed.
• Choose the changes that would make the biggest difference now.
• Ask for named owners, dates and a written record of agreed actions.
• Arrange a review of whether access and outcomes have improved.

Use the school meeting preparation sheet · Contact Stockport SENDIASS.

When the next stage approaches

Plan changes of class, teacher or school early. Share a communication passport, agree equipment and language support, and practise the new routines with your child.

Read the transitions guide.