Ewing Foundation staff provides input to courses, workshops and publications organised by:
- Universities
- Local Authorities
- Professional Bodies
- Voluntary Organisations
- Other Agencies
Aimed at initial training for Teachers of the Deaf and further support for the work of those involved with deaf children in order to raise their educational and social achievement.
They contribute to events attended by:
- Trainee and qualified mainstream and special school staff
- Trainee and qualified teachers of the deaf
- Learning Support Assistants
- Health professionals
- Manufacturers
- Voluntary workers
From delegates at Language Assessment training day:
- “excellent – well delivered with clear explanations, good exemplification and plenty of opportunity for individual support and discussion.”
- “good variety of teaching styles used and ICT well used”
- “teaching was focussed and to the point but flexible and able to deviate when necessary to answer questions”
From a teacher-in-charge of a secondary unit for hearing-impaired pupils:
- “The opportunity to discuss and learn alongside a specialist technician has enhanced our in-house knowledge about testing aids and fault-finding; also, the opportunity to talk about the benefits and pitfalls and to share the experience of a technician who goes to many authorities is most helpful in keeping up to date with new audiological developments; the Ewing Foundation can often tailor-make devices so that equipment can be linked up e.g. computers and F.M. systems”
The Ewing Foundation Consultants work collaboratively with other
professionals to deliver training. At the London launch of the Blue Skies Project, a
consultant led a workshop using software aimed to support language development and
literacy in deaf children.www.blueskiesproject.org.uk
As a voluntary agency the Ewing Foundation works collaboratively with the South East Region Special Educational Needs partnership. It facilitated a working group of professionals which contributed to the key activities within the SERSEN Action Plan. The group produced an audit of the incidence of children within the South-East Region with permanent childhood deafness and an additional language/literacy difficulty. The project, known as 'DASLLD', looked at trends in the data and collated a guidance document for teachers of the deaf to support their work with children who have these difficulties. The group established that this was a significant area requiring further investigation. Web documents are available at www.sersen.uk.net. The recommendation for further training has been taken forward by the SERSEN Training Group.
Following the 'Modernisation of Children's Hearing Aid Services' (MCHAS) directed by the University of Manchester, the Ewing Foundation produced training materials. These took the form of a 'Step-by-Step Guide' to the use of the FP35 test box, a DVD/ video and a detailed Study Guide covering the change from analogue to Digital Signal Processing hearing aids, FM set up and use, and practical issues for teachers of the deaf.