Creating a good communication environment as an educator

For many deaf students, particularly those with hearing aids and implants, how well they can access learning depends on their surroundings – their acoustic environment. Here are practical tips to help you identify issues and make simple adjustments to your surroundings to support listening.

Reverberation and echo

Sound bouncing off hard surfaces can distort what students hear, even with hearing technology.

What helps:

• Fit curtains, carpets or blinds.
• Install acoustic tiles, panels and door seals.
• Add rubber tips or 'hush-ups' to furniture legs.
• Use wall drapes and fabric to soften sound.
• Place rugs and tablecloths under noisy activities (for example, construction toys).

Background noise

Children – especially deaf learners – find it harder than adults to "fill in the gaps" when speech is unclear. Even a little background noise can make learning difficult, and younger children are affected the most.

What helps:

• Close doors and windows during lessons and activities.
• Place furniture against shared walls to block noise.
• Be aware of noisy equipment such as heaters and air conditioners.
• Turn off devices like interactive whiteboards and computers when not in use.
• Promote a quiet classroom culture through positive and inclusive behaviour strategies. For example, use visual cues, reminders and rewards, such as this fun online tool which uses your microphone to visualise noise levels through bouncing balls: Bouncy Balls.
• Help students understand how noise – such as chairs scraping, doors banging, dropping objects and shouting – impacts their deaf classmates.
• Coordinate with colleagues in shared or open-plan spaces to avoid noise clashes (for example, do not schedule a quiet task next to a music lesson).

Competing noise

To hear speech clearly, it must be louder than background noise. This is known as a good signal-to-noise ratio.

What helps:

• Turn off music or radios when speaking.
• Encourage students to be mindful of their noise.
• Choose quieter times or spaces for key learning moments.

Distance from the speaker

The further away the speaker, the harder it is to hear. Hearing devices work best when the speaker is close.

What helps:

• Move closer when speaking to a deaf student. For younger children, get down to the child's level where possible.
• Get the student's attention before speaking, and make sure they can see your face.
• Avoid walking up and down the classroom or teaching space when teaching.
• Seat deaf students within 1 to 3 metres of the speaker.
• Use a radio aid in larger or open spaces.

Noise levels in your space can vary depending on the time of day, your building and where you're located.

Tip: Ask a Teacher of the Deaf or educational audiologist to help check if your space meets national acoustic standards.

Free tools:

• Document

  Managing listening conditions checklist.docx (24.71 KB)
• Document

  Preliminary noise survey.docx (580.6 KB)
• Document

  Pupil feedback survey.docx (593.11 KB)
• Document

  Creating good listening conditions Presentation for Teachers of the Deaf.pptx (7.27 MB)

Classrooms aren’t the only spaces that matter. Other areas in your school or setting also need to support good acoustics. Think about the activities that happen in each space and what simple changes you can make to help deaf students hear and communicate better.

Hallways and stairs

• Use durable acoustic flooring like cork or vinyl.
• Use acoustically treated ceilings and high-level wall finishes.
• Avoid assigning deaf students to work in noisy hallways.
• Provide quiet social areas for breaks.

Open spaces and assembly rooms

• Use furniture to create quieter zones.
• Install carpets and acoustically treated ceilings.
• Train staff to be aware of noise levels and avoid raising their voice over noise.
• Use technology like radio aids or portable soundfield systems.

Lunchrooms and kitchens

• Install insulated roller shutters with doors in front of the shutters to create a buffer zone.
• Plan how to get a deaf student’s attention in noisy settings.
• Consider deaf awareness training for hearing students so they know not to eat and talk at the same time. This can make it harder for deaf students to lip-read.
• Use visual signals for routines like ending lunch.

Outdoor areas and playgrounds

• To block road or other external noises, build solid fences or noise barriers. They will need to be tall enough to break line of sight with any roads.
• Use landscaping mounds to block road noise. They need to extend the full length of the site so the noise doesn’t spill around the edges. Trees and hedges alone aren't enough.
• Set up visual signals to get deaf students’ attention. For example, you could use a flag. Practise these signals with students.
• Do not rely on shouting or whistles.
• Assign a hearing buddy if needed.

Some deaf students may need support from specialist staff, depending on their individual needs. Key roles include:

• Teachers of the Deaf (ToDs): A qualified teacher with extra training in deaf education. They support students, advise staff and help with equipment.
• Learning support assistants/teaching assistants: Help deaf students in class by promoting communication and language development and making sure the student can access the curriculum. They should have training in deaf awareness and communication needs.
• Sign language interpreters: Interpret spoken language into British Sign Language (BSL), Irish Sign Language (ISL) or Sign Supported English (SSE). Fully qualified interpreters will have BSL Level 6 (or equivalent) and an interpreting qualification. They should be registered with the National Register of Communication Professionals working with Deaf and Deafblind People (NRCPD) or an equivalent body.
• Communication support workers (CSWs): Offer flexible support such as interpreting, note-taking and helping with learning materials. They can assist a deaf student in completing tasks, provide explanations or advocate for the student. Communication support workers should ideally have a qualification in providing communication support. Where a student uses sign language as their main method of communication, a communication support worker should have at least a Level 3 qualification in BSL.
• Notetakers: Write notes during lessons so the student can focus on listening or watching an interpreter.
• Electronic notetakers: Provide live, typed notes that the student can read during class. If the student requires a verbatim account, they may use a speech-to-text reporter (also known as a palantypist).
• Lipspeakers: Repeat what’s said silently using clear lip movements to support lip-reading.

When working with support staff:

• Share lesson plans and materials ahead of time.
• Speak directly to the student, not the interpreter.
• Allow extra time for signing and interpreting. There will be a lag between when you say something and when the student can reply or contribute.
• Position staff so the student can see both them and the speaker.
• Plan in regular breaks – interpreting is tiring work.
• Keep all staff informed about the student’s needs and progress.

• Make sure the student can see your face. Don’t cover your mouth or turn away.
• Stay near the front of the room and avoid moving around too much.
• Make sure lighting is good, but avoid standing with your back to a window.
• Ask where the student wants to sit. They often benefit from sitting just back from the front and to the side so they are near the speaker but can also easily see everyone else in the room.
• Speak clearly and at your normal pace. Don’t shout or exaggerate mouth movements.
• Check the student has understood what you said. If not, repeat or rephrase.
• Repeat what other students say so everyone can follow.

See more deaf-friendly teaching strategies.

All schools must have an accessibility plan. This should include how to:

• support deaf students
• improve the sound environment
• ensure inclusive communication practices

During refurbishment or maintenance

Ongoing refurbishments offer an opportunity to improve your setting's acoustic environment. You can also plan acoustic improvements into routine maintenance to improve standards over time.

Make sure new builds and temporary structures comply with acoustic standards from the outset. Testing before the building is in use can prevent costly corrections later.

In addition to the acoustic improvements already suggested on this page, an acoustic consultant or engineer can advise on the following.

Doors

Solid doors reduce sound transfer more effectively than lightweight doors. You can improve lighter doors by:

• adding acoustic seals
• adding plywood facings (if the hinges are strong enough to support the weight)

For external doors, a lobby between two sets of doors is most effective for reducing outside noises. If there is only a single door between the teaching space and the outside environment, then it should:

• be at least 44mm thick with good sound insulation qualities
• have good sealing around the door and glazing of more than 6mm thickness

Walls and windows

• Install absorbent wall finishes or fabric hangings and panels.
• Upgrade windows with better glazing, frames and seals to reduce outside noise.

Floors and ceiling

• Use carpet, acoustic vinyl or resilient matting to reduce impact noise.
• Replace standard ceiling tiles with sound-absorbing tiles.
• Consider "acoustic clouds" for added dampening.

Equality Act 2010

This Act requires schools and local authorities to make reasonable adjustments so disabled students are not at a disadvantage in accessing the curriculum, teaching and learning.

The Act also requires education providers to proactively anticipate the needs of disabled students. Many acoustic adaptations described on this page would fall under reasonable adjustments for deaf pupils.

Northern Ireland: The Equality Act doesn't apply in Northern Ireland, but similar responsibilities exist under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and the Special Educational Needs and Disability Order (NI) 2005.

Planning duties for schools and local authorities

Local authorities in all four countries of the UK must produce strategies to make education more accessible for disabled pupils.

These strategies should aim to:

• increase the extent to which disabled pupils can participate in the curriculum
• improve the physical environment of schools so that pupils can take better advantage of education, benefits and facilities
• improve the availability of accessible information for disabled pupils

They should set out what the local authority will contribute to the schools it maintains and what is expected from those schools.

Legislation on special educational needs/additional support for learning

Disabled pupils with higher levels of need may have a statutory plan (such as statement of special educational needs, an Education, Health and Care plan, or a coordinated support plan). These statutory plans may set out what improvements are needed to help the pupil achieve the best possible educational outcomes.

Country-specific guidance

England

• Building Bulletin 93: Acoustic Design of Schools – Performance Standards 2014 (Department for Education) – explains minimum performance standards for the acoustics of school buildings.
• Acoustics of schools: Design guide 2015 (Institute of Acoustics) – provides more technical information to accompany Building Bulletin 93.

Northern Ireland

• An amended version of Building Bulletin 93 was introduced in Northern Ireland in 2007.
• Acoustic testing is mandatory for new builds and must meet standards before Department of Education funding is approved.

Scotland

• Scottish Government guidance (2007) supports design improvements based on Building Bulletin 93 (GOV.UK).
• School Premises (General Requirements and Standards) (Scotland) Regulations 1967 (legislation.gov.uk) – outlines statutory requirements for school environmental conditions.

Wales

• Building Bulletin 93 (GOV.UK) remains in use.
• Schools built and refurbished under the 21st Century Schools Programme (Torfaen County Borough website) must pass pre-completion acoustic testing to show that they comply with acoustic standards in Building Bulletin 93.