I lip-read, how does the rules on masks affect me?

While it is mandatory for adults/staff to wear a mask, it is also important that children with hearing impairments are not discriminated against. If masks are affecting you in school, your teachers may make the following reasonable adjustments;

• Have teachers wear a clear face covering rather than a fabric or opaque mask
• Seat pupils who are hearing impaired at the front of the room.
• Face pupils who are hearing impaired when speaking to them.
• Reduce background noise as much as possible.
• Talking slowly, but not shouting; or over-emphasise/exaggerate their words.
• Ensure only one person speaks at a time.
• Provide vocabulary lists/key points of lesson content in advance.
• Allow time for processing information.
• Repeat/rephrase remarks if not understood.
• If possible, consider live captioning, so that what you say is displayed on the board/screen.

Your school should carry out individual assessments to consider the impact of any decision to wear face coverings in the classroom. This should include an assessment of the difficulties that masks introduces for a child’s understanding of speech and/or ability to communicate.