St Albans East Deaf Facility

• Established in 2001 as the Primary Deaf Facility for the Western Metropolitan Region of Melbourne.
• Provides experienced, trained Teachers of the Deaf to support deaf and hard of hearing students in accessing mainstream education in their classrooms.
• Staffed on a ratio of one Teacher of the Deaf for every four deaf or hard of hearing students.
• Supported by Speech Pathologists, Educational Psychologists, Australian Hearing, the Cochlear Implant Clinic and Deaf Children Australia.
• Addresses all communication methods including speech, listening, and Auslan (Australian Sign Language), according to individual needs.

STUDENTS AT ST ALBANS EAST DEAF FACILITY:

• Provided with support by Teachers of the Deaf and Educational Support/Interpreters, that is differentiated to meet the needs of each student. This includes language and communication, speech production, auditory learning sessions, and a Personal Wellbeing Program (which incorporates Deaf Culture and Lifeskills), in addition to the Curriculum areas of Literacy and Numeracy.
• Work individually and/or in small groups as well as being supported within the class.
• Teachers of the Deaf work closely with class teachers to develop Individual Learning Plans (ILPs) termly to differentiate the curriculum to suit the needs of individual students.

STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE WITH A VARIETY OF RESOURCES:

• Regular Student Support Group meetings with learning goals developed by teachers and parents in partnership
• TVs and videos with closed caption decoders
• Computers and iPads with PACs (personal audio cables).
• Monitoring and maintenance of hearing aids, speech processors, and Phonak Roger transmitters/Sound field equipment.
• Large area audio equipment for students to access school assemblies in the Hall
• Auslan LOTE as the school's Languages Other Than English
• Auslan interpreting
• Participation in the statewide Primary Deaf Sports Day
• Participation in Deaf cultural experiences such as performances by the Australian Theatre of the Deaf
• Programs and resources provided by St Albans East Primary School for all children.