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School Aged Hearing/Audiology Service
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The School Health Nursing Service within Worcestershire offer all children within their Reception Year the opportunity to have their hearing screened at school. The main reason for screening children’s hearing at this age is to ensure that all children have satisfactory hearing for learning in school. Hearing screening is recommended as a quick method for establishing if a child has satisfactory hearing (or not).
About the service
Your child will have had a New Born Hearing Screening performed as a baby; in Worcestershire this service is provided by Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.
As your child gets older they will have a Hearing Screening Test which is carried out in school for all reception-aged children by our School Health Nursing Teams.
COVID-19 Update
Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic it was not possible to visit schools and undertake the hearing screening programme for children who started Reception in 2020.
If you have any active concerns regarding your child’s hearing it is recommended you contact your GP who can refer direct to the Acute Audiology Department at the hospital.
Community Audiology Clinics
The Community Audiology Clinics are not currently in operation and are under review. For any professionals wishing to make a referral for a school aged hearing assessment, contact will need to be made with the child’s GP who can refer direct to the Acute Audiology Department.
For School Aged Hearing Screening, Health Needs Assessments and the National Childhood Measurement Programme
Worcestershire School Health Nursing Service (part of the Starting Well Partnership) is now using a digital software platform known as School Screener to support delivery of the Healthy Child Programme.
The automated system will be used by the School Health Nursing Service to carry out Hearing Screening, Health Needs Assessments and the National Childhood Measurement Programme. This will ensure that any concerns are identified early to prevent longer term complications.
Find out more about the School Screener and our School Health Nursing Team by visiting the Starting Well Partnership website.
Information for professionals
Referrals for a school age hearing assessment are accepted from a range of professionals most frequently GP’s, Speech and Language Therapists and School Health Nurses.