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Back to school

Published Date: 01 Oct 2020

Going back to school for Charlie was a little daunting, not just for him but for me as well. Despite the challenging times that we’ve all had to endure during the pandemic, Charlie has quite enjoyed having six months home with his family. He was a little nervous and excited to return to school. He hadn’t seen any friends since school closed its doors in March and he had really missed them. He was really sad that he never got to say goodbye to some Year 6 children that he was friends with too.

Since school reopened, Charlie felt a little out of touch with his learning, and he was worried about how tricky the work would be now he’s in a new academic year. He’s managed OK with his learning so far and luckily for Charlie, his teacher doesn’t have to wear a face mask in the classroom (as of yet!) but he does have to wear one in the corridors and around the school grounds. However, despite the fact that he does not have to wear one in class, Charlie has still struggled a little with his hearing loss. He sits at the front of the class and in the middle of the row but, despite all efforts to support his hearing loss, Charlie still didn’t hear his teacher tell him to pop his books on his chair at the end of the day. Therefore, the next day when Charlie was back at school, the teacher told him he hadn’t done as he was told and the consequence was that he had to stand by the fence for a few minutes at break time. This made me feel sad for Charlie, especially if there was background noise at the time. He’s a really good boy and he hates getting in trouble so I know he wouldn’t have done it on purpose.

The Teacher of the Deaf hasn’t been allowed to visit Charlie’s new teacher yet. When she’s attended in the past, she’s been super helpful as she’ll make sure Charlie’s listening environment is the best it can be and give his teachers pointers. For example, she’ll tell them to say his name before talking to him, making sure Charlie’s attention is focused on what they have to say and ensuring that any background noise is kept to a minimum.

Despite this little hiccup with his teacher the other day, Charlie is slowly getting back into the swing of things regarding school life and the new routine. It’s all been a bit daunting for Charlie – with new rules, regulations and staggered drop-off and pick-up times – and to be honest I’ve found it hard to get back in to a new routine again too. We keep hoping they don’t make face masks compulsory within classrooms in England as I think this will definitely hinder Charlie’s learning and his abilities to hear.

Tina

Tina and Ashley are parents to Harvey (14), Charlie (11), Reuben (9), and Oliver (6). Charlie was born with microtia and has moderate hearing loss on the left side. He wears the Cochlear Baha 5 which uses Baha Attract System.