Building Bridges in regional and rural pre and primary school communities.
We are committed to supporting pre and primary school communities with deaf-friendly resources. We aim to build inclusion in rural and regional communities. We would love to hear from you about this!
Have your say and complete our quick Building Bridges Survey
WHY:
In a nationwide survey, parents of deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children raised concerns over a “lack of deaf awareness in schools” that could be impacting their children’s learning outcomes and development.
All students, regardless of their abilities, have the right to fully participate and be understood
The lack of support at an educational level has flowed onto concerns around bullying (shared by 90% of parents we surveyed), missing out on making friends (84%) and getting a good job (68%).
Residing in Kilcoy in rural Queensland, Karla Thomlinson is one of many parents across the country whose concerns are echoed in the survey results.
“All students, regardless of their abilities, have the right to fully participate and be understood by their teachers, school staff and peers,” said Karla, mother of 11-year-old Ollie who is deaf.
“When it comes to additional assistance in an Educational setting, there can be limited options for families who live in regional and rural areas, so it’s important for schools to show awareness and be prepared and do more to include children who require extra attention.”
HOW YOU CAN HELP:
To understand more about this issue we would like to hear from you about challenges faced when including, communicating and understanding a deaf or hard of hearing child in your family, community or school.
Please help us by completing our quick survey on the topic at:
All survey responses are anonymous and the survey only takes five minutes to complete.
Plus we would welcome the opportunity to have a one-on-one discussion to understand your challenges and needs in more detail.
THE OUTCOME:
The survey will help us create and build a program to provide support and resources for pre and primary school communities and parents of DHH children with a focus on rural and regional areas.
Should you or your schools’ staff, community members or parents wish to have their say, and be willing to join in the conversation please email sanonu.robertson@deafchildren.org.au.
