Your rights in education

There are different types of support you could get at school or college.

The law says a school or college must make reasonable adjustments (changes) to make sure you can learn as much as everyone else at your school or college.

What does ‘reasonable’ mean?

If a reasonable adjustment would cost too much or be too difficult then a school or college could say that it wasn’t reasonable.For example, if you wanted all of your lessons to be delivered one-to-one, this would be really expensive.

But many adjustments are easy to make and don’t cost anything – these are reasonable.

Examples of reasonable adjustments:

• Adapting communication: If you need to lip-read your teachers then they must make sure you can see their face at all times. They should avoid turning their back to you, speaking too quickly or mumbling.

• Providing subtitles: When a teacher shows a video, they should show it with subtitles. If they can't do this then they should give you a transcript or some one-to-one time to go over what you missed.

• Providing a quiet space: If you're working in a group and need a quiet space to talk to your classmates, your teacher should be able to provide this.

• Extra time in exams or tests: If you find reading and writing difficult, then you might be able to get 25% extra time in your exams or an adapted paper with language that's easier to read.

• Radio aids: A radio aid is a microphone and receiver that links up to your hearing aid for cochlear implant. It help's make a teacher's speech clearer by making their voice louder and cutting out background noise. There are different makes and models and you'll need one that works with your hearing aid or cochlear implant.

• Soundfield systems: These are systems which make a teacher's voice louder and clearer for the whole classroom through a loudspeaker. They can be installed in a classroom, or you can get one you can carry with you.

• Support: CSWs are like teaching assistants/learning support assistants, but they usually use British Sign Language (BSL). They might sign what your teacher says to you or translate your signs into spoken English so you can chat to your hearing friends.

• Support with transport:  Sometimes deaf young people need to travel further than other young people to get to school or college, because they have to go to a specific place that has the right support for them.

  If you have to travel further because you're deaf, then you might be able to get a taxi for free or at a reduced cost. Different area have different arrangement, so check your local offer to find out what's available.

  If you're 16 or over and deaf, then you maybe able to get free bus travel. Contact your council to find out more information.

Alongside your teacher, there are lots of other adults who can support you at school. The support you get will depend on things like your level of deafness, if you speak or sign and the types of support your school has.

Your teachers, your parents or carers and your Teacher of the Deaf (ToD) can help you decide what will help you the most. If you choose something but later decide it doesn't work for you, you can ask to try something else.

• Teacher of the Deaf (ToD):  ToDs are special teachers who are trained to help deaf pupils like you. As well as talk to your school about the help you might need, your ToD can also help with your work or help you catch up on things you might have missed in class.

  How much you'll see your ToD depends on the type of school you go to, your level of deafness and how much help you need.

• Teaching assistants / Learning support assistants: Teaching assistants or learning support assistants usually help you in the classroom.They might explain things you don’t understand or tell you if you've missed something during the lesson.

• Communication support worker (CSW): CSWs are like teaching assistants/learning support assistants, but they usually use British Sign Language (BSL). They might sign what your teacher says to you or translate your signs into spoken English so you can chat to your hearing friends.

• Lipspeaker: A lipspeaker is a hearing person who has trained to be easy to lipread. They will listen to your teacher and repeat what they have said using clear lip movements, gestures, facial expressions and sometimes fingerspelling. They will sit close to you in a place you can easily see their face.

You might sometimes find it hard to understand your teacher or what's going on in the classroom. This might be because there's lots of other noise or because your teacher turns away and you can't lip-read. But don't worry, there are lots of things that can help.

Talk to your teacher

If you are finding it hard to understand your teacher, the first thing to do is to be brave and tell them. They can't help you if they don't know! If you're worried, you could ask another grown-up that you trust, like a parent or carer, teaching assistant or Teacher of the Deaf, to talk to them for you or help you explain.

If you talk to your teacher and it still doesn't help, you should tell another grown-up that you trust. Remember - you have the right to be supported so you can learn and enjoy being at school!

How can my teacher help?

There are lots of things your teacher can do to help you understand what's going on, like:

• move you to sit in a place where you can lip-read better
• use a radio aid which will send their voice clearly into your hearing aids or cochlear implants
• write down the work or put it up on the board for you.

Some strategies may not work for everyone - don't be afraid to try different ideas and see what works best for you.