Cogan Primary School has a very successful Hearing Resource Base​. Our team is made up of a specialist teacher and support staff who help children with moderate to profound deafness.

The children here have specialist support and are fully intergrated into the daily routines of the school.The Hearing Resource Base (HRB) at Cogan is a resource provision for children with a hearing loss. It is a well-established resource which has run in partnership with Vale of Glamorgan Council for over 20 years and is the only primary resource base in the Vale. We aim to enable students to fulfil their academic and social potential in an inclusive mainstream setting.

The HRB is an integral part of the main school which prides itself on its deaf aware, welcoming community-based ethos and our pupils have a vital role to play in the school community. Our pupils are full members of their year group class and the school community, but are supported by specialist staff, both in their classroom and in the resource base.

We offer an inclusive, nurturing environment which gives our students the confidence to flourish both academically and socially and to achieve their potential. Our specialist staff implement tailored intervention programmes and work co-productively with our parents and outside agencies to provide the best support for our students.

Staffing

We have a Qualified Teacher of the Deaf (QTOD) with BSL (level 2) who works across the 3-11 age range. She is supported by 4 specialist Learning Support Assistants (LSAs) who have BSL (Level 1 / 2).

Staff are experienced in managing hearing aids, cochlear implants, BAHAs, radio aids and soundfield systems and all associated technologies and supplies.

All of the HRB staff are experienced in working with pupils with additional needs (including ASD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, sensory integration needs, behaviour difficulties, fine and gross motor skill delay, auditory processing disorders, auditory neuropathy, and other medical conditions).

Communication

We operate a Total Communication approach.

This involves the use of:

• oral/aural communication
• lip pattern
• facial expression, body language and gestures
• Sign Supported English and British Sign Language

Curriculum

Children in the HRB follow the same core curriculum as their mainstream peers. The TOD and sLSAs use their expertise to differentiate tasks to support all our students for mainstream lessons.

Children are withdrawn to the base or a quieter area when necessary and for specialist expert teaching, speech and language therapy sessions and extra support in literacy, maths or other learning that requires 1:1 or small group work. The amount of time each child spends working in the base varies according to their needs.

We work hard to deliver a seamless transition between Early Years, Lower and Upper Primary and Secondary phases.

HRB students take part in trips and visits with their own classes as well as trips exclusively for the HRB students. This allows them to spend time with peers and friends across the school and helps them to build their social skills and confidence through an enriched curriculum experience.

Audiological Equipment

Our children have varying degrees of hearing loss and consequently use a range of audiological equipment.

Radio aids are issued to students which allow them to receive a speaker’s voice directly to their aids.

All HRB staff are fully versant in daily audiological checks to ensure equipment is working optimally. We also teach and encourage our children to look after their own equipment and learn to self-advocate if there is a problem.

The optimal listening environment

Our school is adapted to provide our deaf children with the optimal listening environment so that they are able to access sound.

Hearing aids and cochlear implants improve the ability to hear quiet, however background noise and distance can reduce access to speech. A radio aid can help overcome these problems, but further environmental adaptations further improve the acoustics to provide the optimal listening conditions. All of our classrooms have carpets, blinds, soft furnishings and lowered ceilings fitted with acoustic ceiling tiles. In addition, two classrooms have a Soundfield system which enhances sound distribution and connects directly to radio aids.  

All staff are trained in deaf-friendly teaching: this involves ensuring the deaf student is placed in a good classroom position, near and facing the speaker with minimal physical, visual or audio obstruction.

We are a deaf-friendly school

Whilst integration within the mainstream part of the school is of paramount importance, recognising and celebrating our children’s deaf identity is equally as important.

We encourage all our children at Cogan to learn about deafness, audiology and the deaf community. We celebrate Deaf Awareness Week and take part in Sign to Sing. We use BSL in classrooms, assemblies and singing. The whole school learn and are encouraged to use a new sign each week. We run Deaf Awareness assemblies and training annually and offer an after school signing club.

Assessments

A range of language assessments are carried out throughout the year. These are used to understand the student’s development needs and to set individualised interventions. Expert teaching is subsequently delivered to work specifically on the student’s individual targets. These targets are reviewed and updated termly.

Transport to/from school

A taxi service to and from school is provided by the Vale of Glamorgan.

Criteria for a place

To be awarded a place in the HRB a student must meet the local authority’s statutory assessment criteria for an Individual development Plan (IDP) with a primary need of a hearing loss (falling within the moderate to profound range).

Applications for a place need to be addressed to the Vale of Glamorgan.