Assisted Listening Made Simple by Tim LaPrade reposted by Apocalypse Acoustics Inc

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https://blog.proaudio.com/assisted-listening-made-simple/?sf35308375=1#more-631

Provision for children having special hearing or communication needs..Acoustic Improvements.

Provision for children having special hearing or communication needs

For the purposes of this document, special hearing or communication needs include, but are not limited to, children with permanent hearing impairment; or with severe or complex needs including:

• speech, language and communication difficulties;
• visual impairments;
• fluctuating hearing impairments caused by conductive hearing loss;
• attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD);
• an auditory processing disorder or difficulty;
• being on the autistic spectrum.

The Equality Act 2010 places a duty on all schools and Local Authorities to prepare and implement accessibility strategies and plans to increase over time the accessibility of schools for disabled pupils and staff. Schools and Local Authorities are required to provide strategies for:

a)    increasing the extent to which disabled pupils can participate in a school’s curriculum.

b)    improving the physical environment of schools for the purpose of increasing the extent to which disabled pupils are able to take advantage of education and the benefits, facilities and services provided.

c)    improving the delivery to disabled pupils of information that is readily accessible to pupils who are not disabled.

This could mean provision of physical aids and acoustic improvements and aids. These will often benefit both hearing-impaired and other pupils.

When alterations affect the acoustics of a space then improvement of the acoustics to promote better access for children with special needs, including hearing impairments, must be considered. 

Approved Document M: 2004 – Access to and use of buildings, in support of the Building Regulations includes requirements for access for children with special needs. 

Other guidance includes BS 8300:2009 Design of buildings and their approaches to meet the needs of disabled people. 

Code of practice and Acoustics of Schools – A Design Guide.

Extracted from Acoustic Design of Schools Performance Standards.

By Apocalypse Acoustics Inc. For any Clarifications or Technicalities please mail us at apocalypse@mail.org or visit us at www.acousticsglobal.com

New-build, conversion and refurbishment work performance Standards.

NEW BUILDING-CONVERSION And REFURBISHMENT: Performance Standards for Acoustics.

 

The School Premises Regulations and the Independent School Standards apply to refurbishment work, and the acoustic standards for refurbishment works given in this document apply.  Where there is a need to upgrade the acoustic performance of an existing building or when refurbishment is undertaken for other reasons, then the building should meet, as far as reasonably practicable, the acoustic performance given in these guidelines to satisfy the School Premises Regulations, the Independent School Standards and the Equality Act.

Although Building Regulations do not apply to all alteration and refurbishment work, it is desirable that such work should consider acoustics and incorporate upgrading of the acoustics as appropriate. In the case of existing buildings, Part E of the Building Regulations applies to material changes of use as defined in Building Regulations.  The Tables give values for both new buildings in the columns labelled “new build” and for new elements of a refurbishment in the columns labelled “refurbishment”.

Where there is a material change of use as defined in the Building Regulations, such work shall be carried out as is necessary to ensure that the building complies with the applicable requirements of Requirement E4 of the Building Regulations.  In these cases, the ‘refurbishment’ criteria contained within this document apply.  The School Premises Regulations and Independent School Standards apply whether or not there is a material change of use. 

Extract from  Acoustic Design of Schools performance Standards by Apocalypse Acoustics Inc.

For Any Technicalities or Clarifications mail us at apocalypse@mail.org or visit us at www.acousticsglobal.com.