Deaf Student Provision (DSP)

St Augustine’s CE High School is the only secondary school in the City of Westminster that has a Deaf Student Provision (DSP) for hearing impaired students. Students are usually referred by the local authority's service for sensory impairment and places are also made available to some pupils from out of borough schools. The City of Westminster has designated the Deaf Students’ Provision to cater for 8 students.

To enable us to fulfil our role we not only have staff members experienced in working with deaf students but we also maintain, assistive technology, specialised resources and learning materials. Our staff consists of one Teacher of the Deaf, three Specialist Learning Assistants and one Communication Support worker who holds the British Sign Language (BSL) qualification at Level 6.

We support the needs of our deaf students as members of the school community, through speaking and listening as the method of communication for learning. All students are aural although we have a small number of students who also use some BSL. Students with BSL are supported by the Communication support Workers who ensure successful interaction and support information exchanges and conversation.

Our students are fully integrated into the mainstream classes and occasionally they receive 1:1 personalised tutorials. As an inclusive provision we encourage and support our students to have the maximum possible opportunity to share and exchange with other members of the school community, everything that the school has to offer. We recognise that all students may have different needs, and as a result, organise support packages to maximise these opportunities.

Our students are involved in school life by:

• Following the National Curriculum
• Attending after school clubs such as homework club, reading club, drama club, sports activities
• Taking part in their own Annual Review process together with setting and reviewing targets
• Attending after school study support sessions for individual learning, pre and post teaching and homework.
We have support from a number of professionals:
• Physiotherapists
• Speech and language Therapists
• Art Therapists
• Educational Audiologists.

We also have very close links with other outside agencies who we work with when required.

The DSP is well equipped with a range of materials, resources and technology all located in purpose designed rooms. Sound field technology is also available in all classrooms. Both pupils with hearing aids and cochlear implants have access to radio aids at all times. To enable pupils to achieve their potential in an integrated mainstream educational setting, maximum use is made of the pupil’s residual hearing, or cochlear implant, through supporting optimal use of post aural hearing aids, speech processors and radio aids. Pupils are encouraged to use and be responsible for their own amplification equipment.

As a team of specialists, we encourage the use of hearing aids and are responsible for monitoring the listening conditions throughout the school as well as advising staff on how to use radio aids effectively through our delivery of INSETs where we also update the staff on current deaf awareness issues.
Feel free to contact us if you are unclear or require additional information at the Deaf Students’ Provision at St. Augustine’s.

DSP department
ssemic@stahigh.org