DEAF FACILITY

Pearcedale Deaf Facility was established at Pearcedale Primary School in 1995 to support deaf/hearing impaired students to access mainstream education in their local area. The Facility operated under the guidelines of the school's policy on Exceptional Children.

The Deaf Facility addresses the basic beliefs and aims of the exceptional Children's Policy by:

• Supporting inclusive education programs to ensure the full acceptance and participation of our students in all aspects of school life
• By providing access to a learning environment where negotiated goals and targets are set with appropriate support from specialist services
• Valuing parents as partners in the educational process and encouraging their input into setting learning priorities for their children
• Encouraging the student to take responsibility for his/her own learning and goal setting to develop self-esteem, independence and self-belief.

Operation of the Facility

The operation of the Facility is managed by a Coordinator and staffed on a 1.4 ratio. Each member of staff is a trained teacher with additional qualifications in the education of deaf children. The Teacher of the Deaf works in a team situation with the mainstream teacher and shares the responsibility for developing appropriate programs for the deaf students.

The full range of Student Support Services supports these programs.

There are also regular visits from Australian Hearing and the Cochlear Implant Team.

Who Can Enrol?

Students who have a bilateral, sensori-neural hearing loss that is moderate/severe/profound are eligible to enrol. A Student Appraisal Group meets to determine eligibility and complete the Educational Needs Questionnaire before enrolment can be confirmed.

Students who use oral communication or signed communication are supported in the program.