Annual report 2002 - batod

David is not only retiring from BATOD PD committee but also from his day job as Director of the RoyalSchool for the Deaf Children, Margate. We all wish him well and hope he has a long and happy retirement.As we approach March 2002 we look forward to welcoming two new elected members on PD, BeverleyMagee from the North Region and Pauline Cobbold from the Midland Region.Business has proceeded much as usual for the Journal ‘Deafness and Education International’ (DEI)this year. The addition of Associate Editor Dr. Steve Powers (SP) to the ‘management’ team has been mostbeneficial. Having both Clare Gallaway and Steve now able to carry out the editing procedure is asignificant improvement, as is having three Editors (as well the Whurr Publishers’ team) to suggest newmoves, discuss publicity, new procedures, etc. In June, Clare, Steve and Meg Shepherd went to London forthe annual meeting with Colin Whurr and Wendy Mould (in charge of Journal production) and inSeptember, a part of the BATOD Steering Group meeting in Birmingham was devoted to discussing DEIwith Editor and Publisher Colin Whurr.The general message was that DEI continues to run smoothly. Four issues a year would enable a focusedor themed edition each year but this is not financially viable at the present time. More participation issought from BATOD members, such as: general views from the profession about DEI, reviewers for newbooks received, colleagues coming forward who would like to referee papers, publicity (for exampleencouraging non-BATOD members and/or institutions such as schools and libraries to take outsubscriptions) and submissions. As well as typical research or educational practice papers, the followingmay be considered: descriptions of ‘Work in Progress’, shorter discussion papers or notes and reports ofresearch conferences. Any of the Editors may be contacted with suggestions.This has been another encouraging year for the Midland Region. A pleasing number ofrepresentatives from across the region has regularly attended committee meetings. There hasalso been good attendance at the twilight meeting and AGM and conference.The twilight meeting saw a record turnout, as 50-60 teachers, representing almost all the LEAs in theregion, travelled to Nottingham for the meeting which addressed a number of issues relating to support atpre-school. Beverly Burch, a teacher from Leicester City, introduced her LEA’s parents’ information pack.Suzanne Harrigan, Speech and Language Therapist (S&LT) from Nottingham talked about earlycommunication strategies with young children. Finally, Malcolm Garner considered ‘Lessons fromAmerica’, discussing issues that had arisen during his trip to Colorado, where he had visited the neonatalscreening programme.Evaluations from this meeting confirmed that support at pre-school and the implementation of UNHS arevery important topics for teachers at present. Suggestions for future events highlighted other areas ofconcern, particularly relating to developments in audiology, in which teachers working with children acrossall phases of education have identified training needs.The Midland region AGM and Conference took place in Worcester in October. In response to the feedbackfrom the May meeting, the audiological theme for the day attracted an audience of over 60 teachers andteaching assistants, representing LEAs from across the Midlands and from Wales.The first speaker, Richard Vaughan-Jones, ENT consultant from Worcester, provided a highly informativeoverview of the pathology of the ear, causes of childhood deafness and current trends in treatment andmanagement of hearing loss.For the second presentation, Carina Newman, an Educational Audiologist and Teacher of the Deaf fromShropshire, brought the delegates up to date with digital hearing aids and the Modernisation of Hearing AidServices Project.The afternoon was dedicated to the Newborn Hearing Screening Programme. Martin Smith, Head ofService in Dorset, provided the background to the project and raised a number of implications thateducation services may face. Debra York and others who have been involved in the pilot sites thencontributed to a discussion of the issues that will all have to be addressed as neonatal screening isimplemented.The very positive evaluations of the conference were a clear indication of how the delegates enjoyed theday and how helpful and relevant they had found the content of the presentations. At the AGM PaulineCobbold took over as Chair of the region. Alison Weaver, the outgoing Chair, took this opportunity to thankthe committee members for their support and commitment during her time of office. Pauline Wells, fromLeicestershire, agreed to join the committee.email: secretary@BATOD.org.uk BATOD Annual report 2001 BATODWebsite: www.BATOD.org.uk 21 The Haystacks, High WycombeAnswerphone / fax 01494 464190 page 10 Bucks HP13 6PY