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Day in the life

Flexible friend

Mary Fortune tells The Teacher what it’s like working as a peripatetic teacher of deaf children.

I started my career as a secondary maths teacher. I’ve had hearing problems since childhood and now wear a bone-anchored hearing aid (BAHA), which enables me to hear my pupils and colleagues more clearly.

In 1985 I was seconded for a year to Manchester University where I qualifi ed as a teacher of the deaf. I started work as a peripatetic teacher in Stockport and I’m still here. I teach in a range of educational settings.

Packages of support are planned for pupils according to their needs. We also help schools meet pupils’ needs – we deliver in-service training, support with using specialist equipment such as hearing aids, and advice on improving the acoustic environment, which benefi ts all children and teachers.

Though we offer support from birth to 19 years, the focus of my caseload is secondary and further education. I support pupils across the curriculum, but mainly in English, maths and science. I also have responsibility for ICT across the service.

The pupils I deal with have the same challenges as everyone else growing up, and a lot of my work is supporting social and emotional development.

One area where we can really help deliver a level playing fi eld is exams. We ensure the correct access arrangements are in place – for example we might arrange a live speaker for a deaf pupil learning a foreign language.

Being peripatetic can be lonely, so being part of a larger sensory service and having a team of colleagues and friends for support is great.

We support inclusion in whatever setting is most appropriate to the child’s needs. We have a continuum of provision that includes enhanced mainstream schools for children who are sign bilingual. All staff have a minimum level 2 British Sign Language and many much higher levels of skill and qualifi cations. I have just completed some further exams; you’re never too old to learn!

Because I work with pupils over a number of years we build good relationships, and I get to see them grow into adults. They often come back to see us, or keep in touch and let us know how they’re getting on.

The main challenge of my job is getting to the right place at the right time and being very fl exible. I’ve been doing this job such a long time but still enjoy every challenge. I can’t imagine doing anything else!

Campaign to save our services

A National Deaf Children’s Society report shows that one in four local authorities is cutting support for deaf children.

The charity has created an online petition and a map detailing the cuts. Find them at www.ndcs.org.uk/save

Find out more www.batod.org.uk