This project aimed to create a model of best practice for the education of deaf and hearing-impaired students in a geographically isolated section of Victoria, the South West Region of Australia. In 2002, at the time of the study, there was no specialised support available for deaf and hearing-impaired students. A partnership was formed between Deaf Children Australia, the South West Hearing Support Group and the Department of Education and Training to investigate and propose a model of how this group of students could be supported the aims of the project were to:

1. Undertake a demographic survey of deaf and hearing-impaired students attending schools within the nominated school networks of Corangamite, Portland, Warrnambool and Hamilton.
2. Undertake an educational needs assessment of each student in consultation with the families, educators and relevant specialist professionals.
3. Develop a proposed model/s of educational service delivery to meet the needs of these students and the region, to include an analysis of costings and a proposed implementation plan.
4. Propose a professional development and training plan for educators, specialists and para-professionals involved in educational services on behalf of these children.

A total of 60 deaf and hearing-impaired children from 0 to 18 years were located with the 47 families who replied to the invitation to be involved in the project. Each family, school and specialist professional was interviewed in person to gain a picture of both the needs of, and satisfaction with, the educational services to this group of students. The information was used to develop a model of educational service provision to be implemented and a professional development and training plan to skill school staff to become effective in the educational management of deaf and hearing-impaired children.

The following key issues were identified from an analysis of the data collected during this project. These issues influence the access deaf and hearing impaired students have to education.

• Limited awareness: School and specialist staff’s awareness of the impact of the hearing loss on a student’s education is limited and inadequate. In part, this can be attributed to the dearth of knowledgeable and experienced professionals in the region, a dependency on the previously existing Visiting Teacher Service, a lack of opportunity for professional development and a lack of opportunities for networking and sharing of information across schools.
• Auslan: There is a general lack of information and understanding about Auslan in both the school and wider communities. There are also very few signing deaf people in the region. Schools tended to think that Auslan was a sign code to use with students with disabilities rather than a community language. A lack of skilled teachers and very limited opportunity for training in Auslan were identified as barriers for schools.
• Support provision: The Educational Needs Questionnaire (ENQ) was not considered an appropriate instrument to assess the learning needs of deaf and hearing-impaired students. There is a lack of consistency in the application for funding by schools, which has meant that deaf and hearing-impaired children do not receive adequate support. Families who are empowered advocates for their children have a strong advantage in attracting resources, while disempowered families do not receive adequate support to enable to attract resources. In addition, staff working as interpreters/transliterators for Auslan dependent students were not required to hold any qualifications and so were not always capable of assisting those students appropriately.
• Eligibility: Students with mild hearing losses, permanent conductive hearing losses, or unilateral losses are ineligible for funded support. The majority of students identified in the project fall into these categories. Information provision to schools with these students needs to be strengthened.
• The Distance Education Centre of Victoria: Families who choose to educate their children at home should have access to the same level of support offered to students in regular schools. Support such as educational consultation, speech therapy and print resources should be accessible to these students, as appropriate.
• Program Support Groups: There is a need to reinforce the role of the Program Support Group, as well as the responsibility of participants. Families should be empowered to take an active role in the PSG and effective communication strategies need to be strengthened between participants. Families often do not see themselves as experts in the educational needs of their student and have high expectations of the school, which can contribute to their lack of involvement in the PSG. 
• Academic performance: Many students are doing well academically, however some are potentially at risk and in need of intervention to help them succeed. At times, families lack a clear picture of their child’s academic performance due to their own lack of empowerment in educational contexts. 
• Well-being: There is a need for all deaf and hearing-impaired students to be able to meet and mix with each other on a regular basis to increase social and emotional well-being, as well as to foster positive self-esteem and identity. The relationship between well-being and hearing impairment is not always recognised by schools and there seems to be a number of deaf and hearing impaired students with social and emotional issues in the Region.
• Access to information: Access to information for both parents and schools must be a high priority. Resources need to be developed locally as well as external to the region.

The outcomes of the project were a proposed model of service delivery and a professional development and training plan, which are described here in detail.

The proposed model of service delivery

The proposed model of service delivery that came from the project involved both short term and long-term measures. Some of the recommendations required the involvement of partners both within and external to the region.

It was recommended that the Barwon South West Region appoint a Leading Consultant for Deaf and Hearing Impaired Students and that the Networks appoint a Consultant for Hearing Impaired Students. The consultant would report to the Regional Director and would be responsible for implementing and maintaining the model.

The Leading Consultant would be responsible for assessing each deaf and hearing-impaired student at least annually. They would provide expertise and advice as well as reporting on current and future support needs. They would also be responsible for monitoring the student’s academic performance and social and emotional wellbeing within the school context, particularly those students who are considered to be at risk. The Consultant would also work in partnership with schools, with the aim of supporting the professional development of staff to ensure that the staff  possess the key knowledge and skills to effectively manage the needs of deaf and hearing-impaired students. Direct teaching should become a minor role unless it is determined to be a priority for individual students.

Professional Development and Training Plan

Given that one of the most significant barriers to effective educational service delivery to deaf and hearing-impaired students was identified as a lack of information and knowledge of the impact of hearing loss, the implementation of a professional development and training plan was considered of critical importance.

The willingness of schools to effectively manage the needs of these students must be supported by a comprehensive plan to address information provision to schools. It was, therefore, recommended that the Leading Consultant for deaf and hearing-impaired students be responsible for ensuring that a professional development and training plan is implemented across the school networks. The aims of this plan were to enable current professionals and specialist staff to be skilled in the educational management of deaf and hearing impaired students and in turn, to provide a professional network to others for information sharing.

It was envisaged that initially, organisations and services outside of the networks would be needed to deliver professional development and training but in the long term, the networks themselves would become be the principle source.

There is a need to develop accredited courses for integration aides and note takers as well as increasing the opportunities for Auslan training.

Schools where deaf and hearing-impaired students are enrolled will need increased funding to allow them to access professional development. Schools are already allocated funding, however, it is often spent on more generic needs. This means that for low incidence areas, such as hearing impairment, funding may not be sufficient. Therefore, additional funding will need to be considered by the Department of Education & Training to the School Networks to enable the implementation of the plan.

It was also recognised that, to overcome the current shortage of teachers of the deaf, the South West Networks would need to encourage the Department of Education & Training to develop local solutions such as providing financial incentives to enable already qualified local teachers to retrain as teachers of the deaf. This could be in the form of a scholarship to cover tuition costs, travel and accommodation.