On Monday, Mrs Winchester led an informative assembly aimed at increasing Chinthurst’s understanding of deafness and highlighting how the community can support those who are hard of hearing.

Mrs Winchester began by explaining that deafness and hearing loss can occur for a range of reasons, such as genetics, illness, ear infections or prolonged exposure to loud noise. The children also learned that there are approximately 50,000 deaf children in the UK and around two million people who use hearing aids.

Mrs Winchester highlighted how fortunate Chinthurst is to have two members of the community who were willing to share their experiences. Mikey explained that he wears hearing aids to amplify sound and help him hear voices more clearly. Mrs Blanks then spoke about her own hearing loss, which is genetic, and described how her hearing aids can be adjusted to suit different environments. For example, she can reduce background noise in a busy room to focus on one speaker.

The children discussed the different ways Mikey and Mrs Blanks communicate, including sign language, lip reading and the use of body language. Mrs Winchester then set the children a challenge to learn how to sign their own names in British Sign Language (BSL) by the end of the day.

The assembly concluded with a discussion on how the community can continue to be supportive. Mikey explained the importance of people facing him when they speak so that he can lip read and follow facial expressions. Mrs Blanks asked that people gain her attention before speaking and, where possible, choose a quieter space for conversations.

The assembly provided a valuable opportunity for the children to develop their understanding of deafness and reinforced the importance of inclusion, respect and effective communication within the Chinthurst community.