UK Council on Deafness

November 2009 Bulletin

In this bulletin:

UK Council on Deafness & Sense Conference
UK Council on Deafness Survey
The Deaf Stepping Stones Project
Hearing Concern LINK
ITV
British Deaf Association in partnership with Definitely! Training & Advocacy Ltd
Dorothy Miles Cultural Centre
deafinitely theatre
Deaf Parenting UK
A Victorian Christmas Event Evening at the Geffrye Museum

PLACES STILL AVAILABLE

UK Council on Deafness & Sense Conference
Ageing with Sensory Loss – maintaining independence, maximising choice

Gold Sponsor - Cochlear Europe Limited

Silver Sponsor - Advanced Bionics UK Limited

Venue: The Resource Centre, 356 Holloway Road, London, N7 6PA.
Date:   Wednesday, 9th December 2009
Time: 10.00am Registration
          10.30am Conference commences
          3.15pm Tea/Coffee and depart

This conference will be jointly hosted by UKCoD and Sense. There will be a range of speakers from across the sector looking at the issues surrounding ageing with sensory loss. In the morning we will be concentrating on setting the scene, and discussing the problems people face from hearing and sight loss as they get older. In the afternoon there will be a number of short sessions showing a range of solutions that can help people to maintain their independence.

Members of UKCoD are invited to attend the UKCoD AGM that will be held at lunch time and there will be a number of exhibitors to visit during the coffee and lunch break. It is an opportunity for all professionals working with deaf people to meet and network with colleagues and to gain a greater understanding of developments taking place across the country and across the spectrum of deafness.

Presentations include:

Conference Chair - John Adams, Chair of the Department of Health's Third Sector and Social Enterprise Sounding Board & UKCoD Trustee

Hidden Crisis – Emma Harrison, Director of External Affairs, RNID
Why millions keep quiet about hearing loss.

Fill in the Gaps – Sue Brown, Head of Campaigns, Sense
Raising awareness of the needs of older deafblind people among professionals.

Mike Brace, CBE, Chief Executive Vision 2020
Ageing Problems, Old Solutions

Communication Support – Kath Phipps, RNID
Developing access to communication support in English for people who have become deaf.

Assistive technology – Richard Lucas, Health, Care and Social Inclusion Manager, Action for Blind People
An overview of entry level equipment for older people with sensory loss, and how they can find out about / source such items.

Low tech – high impact – Liz Duncan , Head of Acquired Deafblind Services, Sense
How to make a difference through low cost, high impact, support for older people who are Deafblind.

"What it means for me" - Liz Duncan , Head of Acquired Deafblind Services, Sense
Deafblind People talk about what makes a difference to them, with additional information from Liz Duncan.

Summing up

(The programme is provisional and is subject to change. Latest details always available on the UK Council on Deafness website at www.deafcouncil.org.uk)

How to Book:
If you would like to book your place please complete the booking form which can be dowloaded here booking form (word doc or pdf) or contact Clare Long at c.long@deafcouncil.co.uk

Delegate Fees are as follows:

Standard    £95.00
Affiliate     £75.00
Member    £45.00

If you would like to Exhibit at this event please contact Clare Long at c.long@deafcouncil.org.uk or click on this link booking form (word doc)

UK Councill on Deafness Survey

As you aware UKCOD has experienced a difficult period over the past 9 months but the Trustees have been working tirelessly to put the Council back onto a secure footing. The future of the Council lies in the hands of its members and will greatly depend on whether the deaf sector (the term “deaf” being used here in the broadest sense) perceives there is a need for UKCOD and that it operates in such a way to add value to the work of member organizations. Assuming this is the case the Board will then develop and implement a strategy to meet the needs of its members as well as continuing its existing activities.

A survey has been developed which will form the basis of more in-depth discussions with member organizations about what they require from the Council. The results from the questionnaire and interviews with individual member organizations will be used for the development of UKCOD’s strategic plan. I would be therefore most grateful if you could take 10 minutes to complete the questionnaire. It is absolutely crucial that we receive as high a response rate as possible from current members and ex-members. Your feedback will be invaluable and I thank you in anticipation of your response.

Click here for survey

The closing date for responses is 15 December but it is my intention to use my Chair’s address at the forthcoming AGM on 9^th December at The Resource Centre, 356 Holloway Road, London N7 6PA to provide information about the early findings.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like to discuss this matter further.

Thanking you in anticipation
Kind regards

Susan

SUSAN DANIELS
Chair UKCoD
c/o The National Deaf Children's Society
15 Dufferin Street, London EC1Y 8UR
direct line 020 7014 1159 (v/t)
e-mail susan.daniels@ndcs.org.uk
switchboard 020 7490 8656 (v/t) fax 020 7490 1677
www.ndcs.org.uk Registered Charity No 1016532

The Deaf Stepping Stones Project seeks to find voluntary opportunities, work experience and work placements for Deaf individuals with Learning disabilities and/or mental health issues. The project provides a buddy to support each individual on the scheme, who will accompany them and remain with them throughout their work experience which will be for a period of 8 weeks and timings will be agreed with each employer.

For more information, please contact Herbert Klein hklein@signhealth.org.uk
Fax: 0208 772 3242
Textphone/minicom: 0208 772 3241Stepping Stones Project,
Falcon Mews
46 Oakmead Road
Balham, London
SW12 9SJ

Hearing Concern LINK is co-hosting three partnership events in November at:

Llandudno, 17 November with North Wales Deaf Association (NWDA)
Glasgow, 21 November with Scottish Council on Deafness (SCoD)
Haywards Heath, 28 November with Action for Deafness

The events are an excellent opportunity to meet old and new friends, participate in active discussion and learn more about our partner organisations. The events will also showcase the work of Hearing Concern LINK’s exciting oral history project, Unheard Voices.For further details please contact Debra Sabri, debra.sabri@hearingconcernlink.org

ITV has teamed up with Northumbrian Water and NHS North East, to make health information accessible in British Sign Language for deaf children.

An animated comic, H2O Gang features on www.signedstories.com in British Sign Language, text and sound – it’s a fun, child-friendly way of presenting important information on eating healthily and taking exercise

The British Deaf Association in partnership with Definitely! Training & Advocacy Ltd are now providing the Certificate in Independent Advocacy and The Diploma in Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy – Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards.

This course is accredited by City & Guilds and delivered in British Sign Language.

The course will commence at Warrington Deaf Centre in the last week of November 2009 and is open to practicing advocates or those who use advocacy skills in their current employment / role.

Closing date for applications is Wednesday 25th November.

To register please contact Dionne Lawrie, dionnel@bda.org.uk at the BDA for an application form and module choice.

Dorothy Miles Cultural Centre have set dates for their next BSL Level 1, Level 2 and Pre-Level 3 Courses starting in January 2010.

For more information about the above courses, together with booking forms can be found on our website www.dorothymilescc.org or by contacting the DMCC office on Tel/Textphone: 01483 303888, Email: dorothymiles@btconnect.com.

deafinitely theatre
A showcase of short plays by Deaf writers

On:           10 - 12 December 2009
At:            Drill Hall Theatre, 16 Chenies Street, London, WC1E 7EX.
Time:        7.30pm
Tickets      £5.00
Phone:      020 7307 5060
Online:      www.drillhall.co.uk Six unique and exciting plays directed by Paula Garfield will feature a wide range of characters. Performed by a mix of deaf and hearing actors these plays are the product of a one-year writing workshop led by Andrew Muir.

Deaf Parenting UK is involved in the Department of Children, School & Families (DCSF)’s advisory group and the group is looking at ways of how to support parents better and enabling parents to have full access to their children’s learning.Please find an attached ‘call for evidence’ from parents, professionals and organisations working with parents.

What Deaf Parenting UK would like to see is for as many Deaf parents, professionals working with Deaf parents and services providers to contribute evidences by considering the following:

how information is shared with parents; how parents are involved in decisions about their child; how mothers, fathers and other carers are helped to engage (eg: support from family, friend, professionals, advocate, peer support etc)
how schools and settings have sought to identify and remove barriers faced by particular groups of parents (eg: in what ways are childcare/nursery/schools ensuring Deaf parents’ needs are met?) how practice changes as children mature (eg: how things changes as child get older? Staff becoming more familiar of Deaf parents’ needs as child grows in early year/primary/secondary school?);
how parental engagement can be built into wider improvement strategies for individual children or whole settings. (How can Deaf parents be involved to have their say on how services can be improved for their children and for the whole school for example?)

Deaf Parenting UK and DCSF are keen to hear about your experiences. In particular they want any evidence you have on:

successful approaches/ good practices? What works well and what doesn’t work well and why? Experiences of Deaf parents with children age 0-19yrs. Deaf parents can be from diverse background ranging from working parents, home parents, single parent, young parent, older parents etc.
Also what are good things from childcare/ early year providers (nurseries) that are useful in supporting parents within the home? Example could be useful model of positive behaviour that parents can borrow for home and enable child to learn more within the home eg: reading book, fun games that promote learning, communication. Anything that you feel are really useful that help you to promote your child’s learning in the home/family life.

Please send information to them at parental.engagement@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk remembering to include your contact details Deadline for evidences to be submitted to DCSF is end of January 2010. For further information please contactAsif Iqbal, Media/Project Manager, www.deafparent.org.uk

A Victorian Christmas Event Evening at the Geffrye Museum

Please see flyer which outlines our next BSL event here at the Geffrye Museum that you, your colleagues and your members may be interested in.

We also offer handling sessions and craft workshops for groups of 6 or more people. If you are interested in arranging a visit or wish to discuss further what we offer groups please do not hesitate to contact me.

If you have any queries or questions regarding this event or would like any hard copies of our flyer please contact me on rcrofts@geffrye-museum.org.uk.

Please send information for the next Bulletin, by 30 November 2009, to:
UK Council on Deafness, Westwood Park, London Road, Little Horkesley, Colchester, CO6 4BS.
Email: info@deafcouncil.org.uk

Please send information for the next Bulletin, by 30 September 2009, to:
UK Council on Deafness, Westwood Park, London Road, Little Horkesley, Colchester, CO6 4BS.
Email: info@deafcouncil.org.uk

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You can find our vision, mission, aim and objectives. The history of the Council and details of how we are governed, our board of trustees and how we are funded.

We have 102 member organisations listed in our Members Directory. There are many benefits of membership and it is very easy to join.

We produce a monthly bulletin and a weekly parliamentary report. The latest issues are available here along with an archive of recent issues.

Direct access to Press Releases, Contact details and Quick Facts for journalists.

We have a full diary of events planned for 2008. We run Conferences and Seminars which anyone can attend, and Special Interest Forums for our members.

We produce a number of Publications of interest to those who work with deaf people, including the Good Practice Guide, Setting up a Deaf Users' Forum and Proceedings from our Conferences.

Whether in Brussels, Westminster or in the devolved countries and regions, wherever decisions are being made that affect deaf people our members are lobbying for change. Ongoing campaigns that we are working with our members on include the Access to Communication in English, Promoting the use of British Sign Language and Access to Health Services.

Whenever government consults on proposed new legislation that affects deaf people we co-ordinate a joint response from our members.

We co-ordinate the national Deaf Awareness Week which was on 4th - 10th May 2009..

We are a national agent for the Department of Health Opportunities for Volunteering Scheme and distribute grants each year to deaf organisations. Details of how to apply and a list of the projects we are funding this year.

Organisations that do not qualify for membership can affiliate to the Council in order to access our information and support. There are different sections for Voluntary Organisations, the Public Sector and Corporate Sector. Affiliation is very easy and there are lots of benefits.

Contact us
UK Council on Deafness, Westwood Park, London Road, Little Horkesley, Colchester, CO6 4BS.
Telephone 01206 274075
Text 01206 274076
Fax 01206 274077
Or send us an Email info@deafcouncil.org.uk

"ACTION BY WORKING TOGETHER"