Department Aims and Objectives:
The aim of the Deaf Support Base (DSB) at St Paul’s Way Trust School is to meet the needs of secondary aged deaf students who benefit from an aural/oral communication approach within a mainstream environment. Students are accepted into the Deaf Support Base irrespective of the degree of their hearing loss, the degree of their learning difficulty or the London Borough in which they live. Our ethos in the DSB is one of achievement and the celebration of successes and differences. We encourage our students to achieve the best results they can, to fulfil their potential.

The primary objective of the Deaf Support Base is to raise linguistic levels of deaf students, and to give them language that will enable them to function as independent adults. The focus on language has two main strands:

• Access to the Curriculum and therefore universally recognised qualifications;

• Language and Communication Skills for life.

Inclusion in the Mainstream: 
Deaf students play a full and active part in the life of the School. They are members of a Tutor Group, alongside their hearing peers. Access to the curriculum is provided in a number of different ways depending on the needs of the students. Students are supported through receiving in-class support, small group parallel teaching and 1:1 teaching in the DSB from fully qualified teachers of the deaf, specialist instructors of the deaf and specialist support assistants.

In Key Stage 4, deaf students are either entered for GCSE, GNVQ or Entry Level qualifications, dependent upon their ability and level of need. Some deaf students are also offered a reduced curriculum in Key Stages 3 and 4, where more time is spent in the DSB in small groups where they are taught literacy, language and communication skills by teachers of the deaf. All deaf students have access to additional study support, in Curriculum Support lessons, and through weekly DSB Homework Club.

Specialist Support in the DSB:
The DSB also provides audiological care and maintenance to ensure that the students receive maximum benefit from their hearing aids and radio aids. The local Audiology Clinic supports this provision. A visiting Speech and Language Therapist holds weekly sessions in the DSB to enhance spoken language and listening skills. Other external agencies including educational psychologists, a specialist careers advisor and social workers for the deaf contribute to meeting the needs of our students.

Achievements:
We are proud that deaf students at SPWCS play a full and active part in the life of the School and many have achieved excellent results in different areas of the curriculum, notably Art & Design, Photography, Science, Technology and Physical Education. In February 2005, deaf students took part in a Deafax Emerging ICT course (see Presentations, below), learning how to build a computer, use a graphics program and develop their presentation skills. In Spring and Summer 2005, deaf students represented the London Borough of Tower Hamlets by taking part in a London-wide disabled football tournament. Our students take part annually in the London Youth Games, representing Tower Hamlets. They have consistently won gold, silver and bronze medals in a range of track and field events. Deaf students have represented SPWCS in national events such as the launch of the National Deaf Children's Society's Change Your World report at the House of Commons in 2008 (see DSB News). In summer 2008, three DSB Year 7 students performed a signed and spoken presentation with Esther Rantzen at the launch of a new NSPCC personal safety DVD in London.

Staffing:
HOF: John Bradley
Teachers of the Deaf:
SL: Carolyn Dew and Lottie Taylor (shared)
SD:
Mark Sokhal
Otilia Tozser
From LBTH:
Abdur Rahim, Diana Sampey, Alison Wagner

Specialist Instructor of the Deaf:
Shelina Rahman

Learning Support Assistants:
Kudaja Begum
Melissa Carroll (i/c P Scales)
Tamanna Choudhury
Mohammed Hasan
Denise Holland
Sonia Marquis
Dionne Mottley
Ottilia Tozser

Further Detail:

DSB Information and Resources:

• Deaf Support Base News

• Deaf Support Base Student Centre

• Deaf Support Base Parent Survey 2008

• Deaf Support Base Student Survey 2008

Help for Teachers (Adobe PDF Format unless stated):

• How the Ear Works

• How to be a Deaf-Friendly Teacher (Microsoft Powerpoint Format, 1.72MB)

• The Physics of Sound

• Usher Syndrome (Microsoft Powerpoint Format, 67KB)

• Using the FP35 Hearing Aid Analyser

Schemes of Work:

• Year 8 Deaf Awareness Course

• DSB Young Lifesaver Award Scheme
  
   ENGLISH:

• Entry Level English - Stone Cold by Robert Swindells

• Entry Level English - Non-Fiction

• Entry Level English - Media

• English Literature - The Tyger and The Lamb
  
   MATHS:

• DSB Maths