Weekly/Fortnightly Update 19 May 2021

Welcome to our weekly update on 19th May from the Sensory Support Team 0-25yrs for
children and young people with a hearing loss or visual impairment and their parents, carers,
school staff and professionals.

Weekly/Fortnightly Update 19 May 2021
Dear Families,
Hopefully the days ahead will look brighter now, with Covid rules
easing across the UK this week, giving us long awaited freedoms.
If there is something you would like to discuss or anything, we may be
able to support you with, please feel free to contact your QToD/QTVI
or myself.
I look forward to hearing from you with anything you would like to share with our Sensory
community.
My warmest wishes to you all
Sibel
Copies of our newsletters can be found at
Weekly update on 6th May 21.pdf
Weekly update on 22nd April 21.pdf
We would also love to be able to share your stories, videos and real-life experiences so
please drop me a line. We are happy to help with the technology side of things!
sibel.djemal@cambridgeshire.gov.uk

Support with creating adaptations for VI
Children/young people
As part of our drive to continually evolve and develop our services, we are pleased to be able
to offer drop-in, virtual support for TAs who are busy making resources, adapting work and
brailing.
During term time, every Tuesday morning between 9:00am and 12:00pm and Thursday
afternoon between 1pm and 3:30 pm, our specialist TAs will be holding a virtual surgery where

you can drop in and ask the ‘How do I adapt this piece of work?’ or ‘What is the rule around
using lower signs?’ style of questions that you need a quick response to in order for you to
keep work flowing for the young people that you support.
These sessions will be a drop-in time via the TEAMS links below and we will be able to answer
your questions and give you advice.
Tuesday 9:00-12:00 Click here to join the meeting
Thursday 1:00-3:30 Click here to join the meeting
Also, we are planning on offering some specific workshops on a range of topics, such as:
graphs; scientific diagrams; adapting exam papers etc. – if you have some topics that you
would like us to cover please can you let us know?
Many thanks
Kirsty, Myrtha & Sarah

Sensory Support Team, Family Support Group
We had a great time with the animals at the zoo and boogying in the jungle this week 
Lovely to see some new faces. All pre-schoolers with sensory needs, their parents and siblings
are very welcome!
If you'd like to join in just contact your QToD/VI or email Bridget
at Bridget.Joyce@cambridgeshire.gov.uk If you’d like to be added to our WhatsApp group
email Jo at Joanna.Brass@cambridgeshire.gov.uk

Our next session will be on Zoom at 2pm on Tuesday 25th May.
We will be sharing 'The Hungry Caterpillar' and signing and singing songs about the garden and
the creatures we find there: There's a worm at the bottom of the garden', 'I dig my garden', 'A
Hedgehog is very prickly' as well as our usual favourites.

Please bring along a cuppa, something to shake plus a caterpillar and toy food (if you have
any!)
Signed Story - The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle - Sign Language - BSL | SSE | Read
Aloud - YouTube
The Very Hungry Caterpillar - Animated Film - YouTube
Hope you can join us!
Jo, Bridget, Marie-Claire, Andi and Louise

Shape and Share Activities – Self-advocacy
RNIB are holding a shape and share activity – Self-advocacy
Dates and times: (NB participants would attend both sessions):
Thursday 27 May 2021 7.30pm to 9pm
Thursday 17 June 2021 7.30pm to 9pm
Who should attend: young people aged 14+
An opportunity for young people to learn more about self-advocacy and to develop their skills.
By the end of the session you will set yourselves a target / challenge to meet and then meet
again three weeks later to discuss their achievements. Time will also be given to planning a
future session that they feel needs to be covered.

Click the link to sign up to this event and see the other activities on offer: Family Support and
Events - RNIB - See differently

Preparing for Adulthood

Are you thinking about applying for University?
Fil Kamp talks about his experiences going to university as a deaf learner and his journey to get
there with his moto - Dream Big, Work Hard and Stay Humble!
https://youtu.be/ALESZYHQlrc
If you have any question do send them in as Fil will be more than happy to answer them.
Angela Howgate,
Qualified Teacher of the Deaf, Sensory Support Team 0-25years

News from Pinpoint Cambridgeshire
Your local Parent/Carer Forum and hub for information, signposting and events for all
things SEND
 Pinpoint
 Annual
 Conference –
 17th and
 18th June
 Join us for our
 first virtual
 conference!
 We have two
 days of sessions
 where you can
 hear directly
 from policy
 makers, experts
 and specialists
 from health,
 social care and
 education on
 the support and
 services
 available in
 Cambridgeshire.
 All sessions are
 FREE and you
 can find further
 information and
 book sessions
 online here.

Self care for SEND parents course
 4 sessions running on 28th June, 5th, 12th, 19th July, 10am-
 12pm.
 Pinpoint also hold regular coffee mornings called 'Tii
 Hubs' where you will always find a friendly face to chat to and
 have the opportunity to meet with other parents who ‘get it.’
 We provide all sessions FREE of charge and you can book all of
 our events and session quickly and easily here.

DfE guidance on face coverings in education in England
has changed
Ian Noon from the National Deaf Children’s Society has provided this useful summary of
changes in Government advice about face coverings, issued on Monday 10th May 2021.
For info, DfE guidance on face coverings in education in England has changed.
From 17th May, it will no longer be recommended that face coverings be worn in classrooms
by either pupils or staff
It will still be recommended that face coverings be worn by staff and visitors outside of
classrooms where social distancing cannot be maintained. This recommendation does not
apply to pupils.
Children and young people over the age of 11 are still required to wear face coverings on
school transport, unless exempt.
FE providers are able to recommend face coverings should be worn by young people in
vocational settings (e.g. a training kitchen).
Where there is a “particularly localised outbreak”, face coverings may be reintroduced for a
temporary period.
One other key change in the guidance is in the text on transparent face coverings. We had
been pressing DfE to take a more positive and encouraging tone in this area, and we are
pleased that guidance now refers to the potential benefits of such coverings. (Note from
BATOD – we too wrote to the Department for Education to make the same point.)
Where our guidance recommends face coverings, transparent face coverings, which may assist
communication with someone who relies on lip reading, clear sound or facial expression to
communicate, can also be worn. Transparent face coverings may be effective in reducing the
spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). However, the evidence to support this is currently very
limited. Face coverings (whether transparent or cloth) should fit securely around the face to
cover the nose and mouth and be made with a breathable material capable of filtering
airborne particles.
The main benefit from a transparent face covering is that they can aid communication, for
example enabling lip-reading or allowing for the full visibility of facial expressions, but this

must be considered alongside the comfort and breathability of a face covering that contains
plastic, which may mean that the face covering is less breathable than layers of cloth.
Text around reasonable adjustments (and the need to consult with pupils and families), and
allowing face shields/visors to be worn as an alternative to the exemption is still in the
guidance.
The full text of the guidance can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/face-coverings-in-education
NDCS has also updated its coronavirus blogs to reflect these changes:
For parents:
Schools and other education settings
Face masks and communication
For professionals
Education

Study on how deaf and hearing babies access the
sounds around them
UCL Ear institute are looking for volunteers to take part in a project funded by the National
Deaf Children’s Society about how deaf and hearing babies access the sounds around them. In
order to find out more about how babies and toddlers learn about sounds in their
environment we have developed a series of short questionnaires (about 5 minutes each) for
parents to fill in. They are looking for parents of babies and toddlers (deaf or hearing) aged 3
to 18 months to tell us about their everyday interactions with their child in different
situations.
They want to understand whether families with deaf babies do things differently to families
with hearing babies. They will use this information to look at how best to use remote
microphone technology so that deaf babies get the best possible sound experience.
You can find out further information including a contact link to the study here. You can also
get in touch directly with the study team by emailing Hannah.cooper@ucl.ac.uk., Tel: +44
(0)20 7679 8958

The nasen Awards 2021 - Nominations now open!

The nasen Awards 2021 are now open for nominations and
 you have until the 16th July to get your entries in!
 Do you know someone who always goes above and beyond
 when it comes to ensuring the needs of children and young
 people are met?
 Then why not nominate them for a nasen SEND Award today!
 Submit nomination

Categories
There are 13 awards up for grabs this year, and you can nominate as many people/settings as
you like in the following categories:
 1. The Innovation Award for Technology
 2. The David Ryan Publication Award 2021
 3. The nasen Award for Early Years Provision
 4. The nasen Award for Primary Provision - Sponsored by: GL Assessment
 5. The nasen Award for Secondary Provision
 6. The nasen Award for 16-25 Provision
 7. Specialist Provision of the Year Award
 8. The nasen Award for Co-production with Children and Young People and their
 Families
 9. Young Person/Youth (up to 25 years) Achievement Award
 10. nasen Teacher of the Year Award
 11. SEND Leader of the Year Award
 12. Learning Support Staff member of the Year Award - Sponsored by: Axcis Education
 13. The International Provision of the Year Award
Shortlisted entries will be invited to our awards ceremony which will take place on the 15th
October, at the Waldorf Hilton Hotel, London.
For more information please visit the nasen Awards web page. Good luck!

Change of Lateral Flow Device (LFD) tests for use at
Asymptomatic Testing Sites (ATS):
From 10 May, NHS Test and Trace are introducing a new type of LFD test called Orient Gene.
These are for use only at ATS in schools and colleges. These tests involve double nasal swab
samples only – a throat sample is not needed. The Orient Gene devices return a positive or
negative result in under 30 minutes.

We have updated our guidance on the document sharing platform for schools and colleges
with further detail on the change. There is also a one-page summary here with instructions for
the new Orient Gene lateral flow tests.
Guidance on coronavirus testing in specialist settings has also been updated here.

Staff Biographies
As a Local Authority we very much believe in a Think Family approach to how we support and
coach our children/young people, families and fellow professionals. We thought it would be a
lovely idea to share our staff biographies with you. As there are over 55 of us in the team we
thought that we would add a few each week rather than all at once 

 My name is Catherine.
 I originally taught Modern Foreign Languages in a large
 comprehensive in Bristol. I enjoyed this, but also felt strongly
 that learning a foreign language was not a priority for many of
 those young people. Then I had a ‘eureka’ moment when a
 deaf student joined my Y10 German class. I wore her radio
 transmitter, as she requested, and it dawned on me that
 becoming a teacher of the deaf would allow me to pursue
 language teaching in a different way.
 My third child was slow to talk, so his hearing was tested at
 home by one of the Cambridgeshire teachers of the Deaf (they
 did that then!). I suspected there was nothing wrong with his
 hearing, but I had an ulterior motive: to mention my TOD
 qualification during the visit. It worked - the maternity cover
 opportunity arose soon afterwards, and the then head of
 service rang to let me know.
I worked in Essex for a few years after the Mayfield period, and then returned to work in
Cambridgeshire. Now the lead teacher of the deaf, I thoroughly enjoy the mix of management
and caseload work, and all its variety.

I have lots of hobbies out of work, mostly outdoor things, and especially birdwatching. I
happily spend hours with birding buddies and birding books, working out what bird it might
have been that we just caught a glimpse of.

My name is Amarinda Benson and I am a peripatetic Teacher
of the Deaf. I currently support deaf children, young people
and their families in St. Neots and Huntingdon. Before I began
working in deaf education, I was a Secondary School English
Teacher. I studied some Linguistics at University and have a
real love for English grammar and semantics, which comes in
handy in this role! I became interested in working with deaf
children and young people when I was as an English teacher at
a school with a resource base for young people with hearing
loss. I have since worked at the primary Hearing Support
Centre and I moved into the peripatetic role after I returned
from maternity leave.
Outside of work, I love to bake, and spend time with my family
– my daughter and I will often be in the kitchen on a Saturday
morning making some banana bread! I also love a good book,
or audiobook, and a cup of tea!

 Hi my name is Aya . My experience as a Teacher of the deaf
 spans a range of educational settings including schools for the
 deaf in Birmingham and London, a specialist hearing provision
 within a mainstream school in Cardiff and, my current role
 within the peripatetic team in Cambridgeshire. This role
 involves working in partnership with parents and a wide range
 of professionals to provide holistic support and advice for deaf
 children and young people and their families.
 My special interests are in ensuring well-being and building
 resilience in parents through the Just What We Need
 programme, bringing families together to support each other
 and language development in the Early Years.
 When not at work, I enjoy getting outdoors with my family,
 running, trying new recipes and practising yoga.

 If you would like a copy of this text in large print, Braille, audio tape, or in another
 language contact: Sensory Support Team 0-25yrs, Amundsen House, Stocks Bridge Way,
 St Ives PE27 5JL
 01480 373434 or Sensory.SupportTeam0-25@cambridgeshire.gov.uk

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