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Hi I'm Wendy and I have only ever met one person from the Deaf community; it made me wish I knew how to communicate with him. I have always loved languages and would love to be fluent in BSL one day. It does feel strange and foreign though, like any new language does. I feel I need to build up a lot of courage before I post my little video of introducing myself in sign language!

Communication Support Worker - Thomas Hinderwell Primary Academy *NJC09 £20,344 (Actual salary £15,625) - 32.5 hours per week, term time only* ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover – come and broaden your horizons!’ Thomas Hindwell Primary Academy is a one and a half form entry primary (265 on roll and rising) with big ambitions as we continue to broaden our horizons for our children and our staff team. Over the last year we have overhauled our curriculum, leadership structure, provision, and learning environments and we enter 2019 looking very much to the future. As a school we are very much a ‘sleeping giant’ and while our new approaches will take time to further embed we are seeing positive results. As a school we have adopted Talk for Writing, Effective Maths, a new Core Knowledge Curriculum and become an outward facing school working with our coastal primary partners to transform our children’s lives. We are part of the David Ross Education Trust which is a family of 34 primary and secondary schools. As a staff colleague you will access CPD available locally as well as accessing leading teaching and leadership programmes through our Trust networks. Our ongoing development in terms of educational achievement and commitment to raising standards on the coast is at the forefront of our thinking – and we now have a Research Arm, a great enrichment programme and work closely as a partner of the Scarborough and Esk Valley Teaching Alliances. Our opportunity We are looking to appoint a colleague to support and guide one of our Year one pupils who is hearing impaired. Working closely with the designated Teacher of the Deaf through the Local Authority you will provide the communication support and help make sure the learning provided is adapted accordingly. While we are looking for current or prior experience of working with Deaf children you will work closely with our support staff and the LA specialist who will be in school at least every 2 weeks. We are looking for: · Current or prior experience of working with Deaf children · A good understanding of the needs of Deaf pupils and strategies that will help ensure they make progress · A colleague who is supportive, nurturing and seeks to make learning exciting and a positive experience We can offer you: · A school with a renewed focus who puts pastoral and nurture provision at its heart and an aspirational outlook for our children · An opportunity to be in a school that is rapidly improving · Happy, enthusiastic children who are thriving and have a thirst for learning · A school which has had its learning environments inside and out redesigned and reworked to fully met the expectations of our children and staff · An opportunity to work with an experienced and committed team and be part of a Trust which is diverse and puts the community at the heart of its agenda Join us and build a wonderful career in a school you are passionate about. Please contact the school office for more details. We strongly recommend that you visit us so that we can share with you why we are so proud of our school, and you will get a chance to see what we have to offer. Please contact the school office on 01723 373110. For an informal conversation you are welcome to contact James at North Yorkshire County Council at [email protected] or call 01609 534939/ 07966261249. Closing date: Monday 24th February 2020. Interviews will be held as soon as possible after the closing date To apply for the post you can apply direct at the following link: https://www.jobtrain.co.uk/dret/displayjob.aspx?jobid=1312 We reserve the right to close this vacancy early should we receive an overwhelming response. All candidates are advised to refer to the job description and person specification before making an application. We are committed to safeguarding and protecting the welfare of children and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. A Disclosure and Barring Service Certificate will be required for all posts. This post will be subject to enhanced checks as part of our Prevent Duty.

Hello, I am a HLTA in a primary school, I love learning and developing my skills, as a teaching assistant I think it is important to continue to develop for the ever changing world. I am enjoying learning through the BSL website. Melissa x

Hi Everyone I have noticed a lot of people's reasons for learning BSL are out of interest and progression which is really nice to see! I can't say it was something I had ever particularly thought about learning until I suffered from Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SSNHL) earlier this year. After experiencing severe hearing loss on one side and suddenly struggling with day to day communication it has been quite a shock for me. Although I am able to communicate through speech it is not always easy even with aids especially in busy and loud environments and it can lead me to feeling quite isolated. From what I can see there is a really supportive and strong community for Deaf people but I haven't managed to speak to many other people who has suffered sudden unilateral hearing loss who are practising switching between speech and BSL as two means of communication - it would be great to speak to anyone who is experiencing something similar to me? It would be great to connect with anyone who is in the early stages of learning BSL! Jasmine