DRB (Deaf Resource Base)

About the Deaf Resource Bases

Our Federation hosts a Deaf Resource Base (DRB) at both Colman Infant School (Key Stage 1) and Colman Junior School (Key Stage 2).

This is part of Norfolk’s ‘local offer’ for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. You can find their website here.

You can also find more information about the support for Deaf children across the county provided by Virtual School Sensory Support. You can find their website here.

We have provision for 6 placements that are open to Deaf children throughout the county.

Our Deaf children are valued members of our school and fully included in all aspects of school life. They learn alongside their mainstream peers, either in class or in a smaller group: Oak Class at Colman Infant School and The Minpins Room at Colman Junior school.

The Deaf children are encouraged to have a positive Deaf identity and have a weekly ‘Deaf time’ where they study and discuss aspects of Deaf culture with a Deaf teacher and other visiting members of the Deaf community. (Please see the Deaf Studies tab)

Pupils throughout the school are encouraged to value the cultural diversity that our Deaf children bring to the school and learn BSL which is a language of our community and seen in class, during assemblies and of course, on the playground!

What can our Deaf Resource Bases (DRBs) offer Deaf children?

Specialist staff who have a good knowledge and understanding of the development and research in the field of Deaf education
Staff with high level communication skills e.g. signing
Regular teaching from a qualified Teacher of the Deaf
Small group teaching as appropriate
Specialist support whilst in some mainstream classes
Specialist auditory training and speech and language development.
Advice and support from the Children’s Services Virtual School for Sensory Support.
A deaf peer group
Appropriate amplification
Whole school supportive ethos with BSL on the curriculum for all children in Year 2 and Year 3 and signing used and seen throughout the school
Mainstream staff who have experience of deaf children in their class
Deaf adult role models
A Deaf Studies curriculum
Access to Deaf culture and the Deaf community
Home to school transport, as appropriate
Cross campus inclusion opportunities to meet older and younger Deaf children.

What is the referral process?

Parents and carers will always be involved in discussions and agree to any referral and subsequent placement at a DRB
A placement at a DRB means the child moves onto the roll of the school.
If you think that a DRB placement is appropriate for your child, please discuss this with your child’s Teacher of the Deaf.
During the pre-referral stage you may consider arranging a visit to the DRB- we would be very happy to see you, simply phone our school office
Referrals and admissions to bases are managed by a county wide admission process including termly admission meetings

Oak Class (Colman Infant School)

What is Oak Class?

Oak Class is a big, bright room in Colman Infant School and we have lots of resources for all sorts of activities such as;

What makes it different from other rooms?

It is acoustically treated, which means it is a quiet and relaxing environment, that makes it perfect for small group work and language activities

Who works in Oak Class?

Our Deaf children, who come for small group teaching
Other pupils who benefit from a quiet environment when learning

“My advice for young people is to just be yourself. There’s no pressure. Do what you want to do. And if you want to do something, then go after it and make it happen.” Millicent Simmonds, Deaf actress, aged 17

The Minpins Room (Colman Junior School)

Deaf Time

Our Deaf Community

British Sign Language (BSL)

Introduction

British Sign Language (BSL) is a language of our community here at Colman Federation. It’s a wonderful language that we all enjoy using and BSL is a subject in our Year 2 and Year 3 classes.

Throughout the Federation, we use sign language to:

say hello!
spell words
tell stories
say how we feel
chat to each other

We also love singing and signing! That means signing while we are also singing. It’s really fun and Colman are fantastic at this (we’ve won competitions!)

Everyone sings and signs during assemblies.

We welcome different members of the Deaf community into our schools, who tell us about their lives and help us learn more about Deaf culture.

YEAR 2 BSL

In Year 2, you will learn how to:

fingerspell the alphabet (do you know if you’re left handed or right handed?)
sign your name
greet your friends

YEAR 3 BSL LESSONS

In Year 3, you will:

develop an understanding of BSL grammar and different handshapes
learn a wide range of vocabulary in BSL
be able to chat in BSL with each other and members of the Deaf community who will join us throughout the year
become more Deaf aware
learn about Deaf culture and Deaf history
learn how to ‘translate’ from English to BSL and vice versa
HAVE FUN learning an amazing new language!

Sign of the week

Fantastic BSL resources

There are some fantastic signed programmes for you to enjoy at home!

BSL Zone has a brilliant section for children to watch.

The programmes are signed but with someone ‘voicing’ English if you want to ‘hear’ what they are signing.

They’re really fun and you will learn more about the Deaf community and all kinds of other things - we love ‘Let’s Go Wild’ series about a zoo with Deaf presenters.

https://www.bslzone.co.uk/children

Colman Infant & Junior Schools Federation