Advice and Guidance Helpline
Our Helpline is here to help. We give free independent information, advice and guidance to professionals working with deaf children.
Do you need free independent advice? Contact the Helpline
Landline: 0808 800 8880
Monday to Thursday 9am – 5pm and Friday 9am - 12:30pm
Free from all UK landlines and major UK mobile providers
SMS: 0786 00 22 888 (SMS)
Monday to Thursday 9am – 5pm and Friday 9am - 12:30pm
Texts are charged at your standard network rate or taken from your monthly allowance
Monday to Thursday 9am – 5pm and Friday 9am - 12:30pm
Contact us by making a free video call with a BSL interpreter
Complete our online contact form at any time and receive a response within 10 days
Monday to Thursday 9am – 5pm and Friday 9am - 12:30pm
Chat to a member of the Helpline team online for free
Please note, based on research and recommendations from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, it is our policy that we do not speak to people on the phone while they are driving, including those using hands-free devices. We ask drivers to wait until they are safely parked or arrive at their destination before calling.
What we can help with
We can provide support on a range of topics related to childhood deafness, including:
- Diagnosis
- Education, including early years, special educational needs (SEN), further and higher education
- Welfare benefits and other financial support
- Communication options and support
- Technology and equipment to support deafness
- Disability discrimination issues
- Options after leaving school
If you're a parent or family member, you'll find more information about our Helpline for families here.
Refer to us
Do you work with a deaf child or young person who needs help with something relating to their deafness and may struggle to access our services?
Complete our referral form for professionals and we can contact them or their family directly to tell them about our services and offer support.
If English is not their first language we can contact them with a phone interpreter or using Interpreter Now, a BSL video interpreting service. Welsh speaker usually available Monday-Wednesday.
What we can’t help with
- Deaf adults over 25
- Hearing children with deaf parents
- Housing questions
- Immigration questions
- Deaf children and young people who live outside of the UK
- Those with Auditory Processing Disorder (APD)
How we use your information
- Calls to the Helpline may be recorded for training and monitoring purposes
- You have the right to object to your data being processed: if you do, we will explain what that means
- For more detail on how we process your data, view our privacy statement
How did our Helpline team do?
If you have a minute, it would be great if you could complete our short survey about your contact with the Helpline.