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44
Partially Hearing Unit for Infant Children, Kingsley Infants' School
During the Summer Term of 1969, our number increased to eleven but
in the September term three seven year old children were transferred to the
Junior Partial Hearing Unit and one six year old to the residential school
in Margate. With the entrance of three children from the Nursery Unit, there
are now ten children in the Infants Unit. There will be a considerable upheaval
in the next September term as seven children will have reached their
seventh birthday and decisions will soon have to be taken as to the most
suitable form of Junior education for each of them.
The children in the Unit vary in their abilities and degrees of deafness,
most of them having a severe hearing loss. The class can be roughly
divided into two groups;
- one group of six is given the basic auditory and visual training necessary
for the acquisition of a rudimentary vocabulary; four are producing spontaneous
and recognisable speech, albeit of a limited vocabulary range.
- the other, more advanced, group is progressing well; these children are
using simple sentences and phrases, employing quite extensive vocabularies
and using reading as a means of developing and extending their language.
Reading lessons are built around the children's own experiences and activities;
for example a recent project concerned food - how it is prepared,
where it is found etc. Much help is given here by the parents using home
note books, for work done in the school can be consolidated at home.
The Unit has been fortunate in having the services of Mrs. Bevis for
certain times during the week. As she is a trained teacher of the deaf, the
second group can work separately at their own level on the same project.
Such work has proved very valuable. The loop induction system and group
aid system are used for such lessons to achieve the maximum sound input.
Individual speech lessons are also given as frequently as possible using
the speech trainers provided.
All the children attempt some form of number work and their achievements
vary from simple number recognition to a mastery of simple multiplication.
The children integrate with the hearing children during lunch times and
play times, and presented their own play for the school Christmas Concert.
The hearing children accept the deaf children very well and several friendships
have been formed. Many thanks are given to the staff of the hearing
school for their help and co-operation.
Partially Hearing Unit for Junior Children, Kingsley Junior School
There are six full-time pupils in the unit at present, three boys - 7-8
years, one boy and one girl 8-9 years and one girl 9-10 years.
One girl who used to attend for two mornings a week is now managing
full-time at the Margaret Roper Junior School.