Hearing checks to be the norm in schools for SEND kids

Hearing tests for children with special educational needs and disabilities SEND

The NHS will be offering ear, eye and dental checks to children and young people with special educational needs in their schools from next year. The scheme will be offered at all residential special schools and colleges in England and will reach 18,000 pupils.

Students with learning disabilities and some autistic young people can struggle to say when they experience problems. This new move aims to catch important health diagnoses by bringing the checks to the students in familiar surroundings. A pilot has shown that when the checks are carried out by staff they already know and trust it can make a key difference. It can also help to save time on medical appointments that students would usually have to miss school for.

Linden Lodge School in South London was part of the pilot, and staff there say their students have hugely benefited. Nafsika, one of the teachers who received the training to be able to do the checks, explained how one of the ear examinations she did on a student showed up something concerning – a hole in the eardrum. Equipped with this knowledge, the school was able to adapt their approach to the pupil. “He’s always going to feel more sensitive to noise,” explains Nafsika. “Now we’ll know why and that will change the whole behaviour we have.”

The NHS checks will include annual eyesight checks, at least one annual dental check, and hearing checks carried out at transition points in the student’s education.

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