Positive Relationships Inclusion: Animal magic

Children at Steady Steps Pre-school in Gosport, Hampshire, enjoy having a special staff member - Joey, a black and white cocker spaniel.

Joey is a Hearing Dog and has been coming in to the setting for the past year with pre-school practitioner Diane Duffield. Diane is deaf in her right ear and has 30 per cent hearing in her left. Joey accompanies Diane everywhere to act as her ears, alerting her to sounds.

'When I'm at home I tend not to wear my hearing aids because they are heavy and my ears get sore,' says Diane. This means that I can't hear various things such as the alarm clock in the morning, so Joey's trained to jump on my bed and nuzzle my chest until I wake up. She also alerts me when the phone or doorbell rings, and if the smoke alarm goes off she'll put her paw on me and lay down to signal danger. At pre-school she is trained to react to the fire alarm and the doorbell.'

GOOD WITH CHILDREN

Joey was specially selected for her placid temperament, and was given intensive socialising and training to ensure that she is suited to being around children. Staff explain to the children that not all dogs are as friendly as Joey and they should not touch strange dogs. At pre-school she happily settles by Diane's side and has a bed where she'll go if she wants some quiet time. She is only put on a lead when the children are eating.

'The dog is like another member of staff to us,' explains pre-school manager Julie Pitchall. 'We had the school photographer in this week and Joey lined up with the rest of us and had her photo taken to go on the board.

'When Joey first arrived the children all gathered around her and made a fuss, but now they just accept her. If she doesn't have her burgundy jacket on the children know that she is not working and that they are allowed to stroke her. They are very proud of her.'

Ofsted and parents were informed before Joey started attending the pre-school and they were all happy with the arrangement. Some children are nervous of Joey at first, but soon learn that she won't hurt them. Diane says her own son was petrified around dogs but now wants to be a Hearing Dogs trainer.

Diane has found that Joey can help children settle in to the pre-school. 'Children who are upset and do not want to leave their parents can often happily come in when they are told that they can look at my dog,' she says.

SIMPLE SIGNS

'It's nice for the children to see a working hearing dog and it gives them an understanding of my needs,' says Diane. 'We talk to the children about different impairments and they learn about diversity. They sometimes ask about my hearing aids, so I explain how I use them to help me hear. Most people who are deaf can tune in to their own name, so the children know how to say it to get my attention even if they are beside me, or they know to tap me on the shoulder. My deafness has never been a problem.'

Although Diane can cope well without sign language, she uses it with the children and they have begun to learn some simple signs such as hello, goodbye, please, thank you, water, fruit and milk. The pre-school has ordered a puppet which they will use to help introduce more phrases to the children, and there are also plans to run family learning sessions on early years British Sign Language so that parents can also use it at home.

Diane's use of sign language in the pre-school has made staff realise how important all forms of communication are, not just the spoken word. 'We've found that Diane can especially help when it comes to working with children who have English as a second language, or have not yet learned English,' says Ms Pitchall.

'We have a child from Fiji and he looks to Diane for cues from her hand signals, for example signing "well done". It is another communication system and it is not just useful when it comes to hearing impairments. At times Diane can be more intuitive without hearing.'

FURTHER INFORMATION

Nearly nine million of the UK population experience some degree of hearing loss - one person in every seven. More than 650,000 of these are severely or profoundly deaf and could benefit from the help of a Hearing Dog.

Hearing Dogs alert their deaf owners to sounds we take for granted, providing greater independence, confidence and security. Most are selected from rescue centres or donated as unwanted pets.

For more information go to www.hearingdogs.org.uk.