Deaf-friendly early education and childcare

This resource is for anyone working with deaf children in an early years setting, including:

• nurseries – local authority, private or voluntary
• pre-school
• childminder
• nanny
• after-school club
• crèche
• playgroup.

Every child deserves the best possible start in life. Children develop quickly in the early years, and their early relationships, interactions and experiences form the building blocks for healthy brains and lay the foundations for future development. Early years practitioners play an important role in making this happen.

This resource will help you:

• understand childhood deafness and the needs of a deaf child
• prepare your setting for a new deaf child
• make your learning environment and activities deaf-friendly
• create a good acoustic environment and know how different hearing technologies work
• support language and communication development
• know where to go for extra support.

This resource includes a transition plan template you can use to help you record information about a deaf child. You can download the transition plan template separately here.