Bi-borough Hearing Support Team

The Bi-borough Hearing Support Team offers specialist support to children and young people (aged 0-25) with any level of deafness; including mild to profound and unilateral or bilateral. We also support children and young people with temporary deafness e.g. due to glue ear.

The team consists of Qualified Teachers of the Deaf (QToD) who have first qualified as teachers and then taken extra training in providing quality teaching to mainstream learners with any level of deafness.

What do the Qualified Teachers of the Deaf do?

Qualified Teachers of the Deaf will:

• conduct specialist assessments and interpretation of results
• provide advice and guidance
• teach directly in groups or one-to-one using an enriched language input
• work in partnership with parents/carers and other professionals to ensure holisitic support for the deaf learner and wider family
• carry out continuing professional development
• fit and maintain specialist hearing equipment (e.g hearing aids, cochlear implants, assistive listening devices or Soundfield Systems)
• QToDs use the Specialist Deaf Curriculum Framework (SDCF) when working CYP

Eligibility

The service supports all children and young people with deafness from birth to 25 years. The CYP should live within the boroughs of Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea (RBKC) or Westminster or attend a school, nursery or setting within the borough. 

If the child or young people does not live or attend a school/nursery/setting in the bi-borough please the team lead below.

The service is free to all children and young people with deaf support in bi-borough maintained schools, to all children under 5 and to all Bi-borough residents who have deaf support written in their Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). 

Referral Process

Referrals can be made by schools, the local authority, health professionals or families. 

To make a referral please complete this referral form and email to [email protected] with 'QToD referral' in the subject line. 

Useful links:

Please visit Westminster Special Schools Website for more information on what the Hearing Support Team can offer you.