What is Earsay?
We've been supporting hearing impaired children, young adults and their families for 50 years
Earsay is a Jersey registered charity set up to promote opportunity and a sense of pride through support to Jersey’s deaf and hard of hearing children, young adults and their families. We want an island where deafness and hearing impairment do not create limits or labels; where everyone has equal opportunities and in which the community understands and practises clear communication.
- We bring together deaf and hard of hearing children, young adults and their families to create a supportive network.
- We provide funding to remove financial barriers to help give the deaf and hard of hearing and their families equal opportunities.
- We raise much needed funds to enable us to provide this support.
In 2010 we adopted the shorter and more memorable name of Earsay.
The “Jersey Society for Deaf Children” was first established in 1972 with the aim of assisting deaf and hard of hearing children. The charity was formed by a group of parents who felt their children were isolated from others with similar experiences.
In 1992 it was recognised that the children the charity was supporting were growing up and becoming young adults, but the adult Deaf Society did not really cater to their needs. Therefore, the name of our charity was changed to “Jersey Society for Deaf Children and Young Adults” and the Rules of Association were also updated to enable the charity to extend its support to this age group. There is no strict definition of a young adult, but it is accepted to be up to about the age of 30 at which point most people will join the adult Deaf Society. Then in 2010 it was felt that the charity’s name had become outdated, too long and difficult to remember. Therefore, it was decided to adopt the shorter and more memorable name of Earsay.
Statistics
The latest statistics for 2020/21 show:
- there are 78 children and young people who are deaf or hard of hearing distributed across 30 different education providers in the academic year 2020/21
- there are 55 children and young people (under the age of 19) with hearing aids or cochlear implants
- since the start of the new-born-screening-service in 2002, 16 children have been identified with a permanent childhood hearing impairment
- these children are supported by professionals as follows:
- 1 Audiologist who works in schools 3 days a week and 2 days a week in Audiology.
- 2 Qualified Teachers of the Deaf holding the mandatory qualification
- 6 specialist key workers at St Clement’s School and Le Rocquier School
- 1 Deaf Instructor who visits ARC schools and Highlands College 8 times a year and is employed by CYPES (Department for Children, Young People, Education and Skills)
The charity is registered with the various bodies in Jersey.
- Association of Jersey Charities Registration Number: 33
- Jersey Charities Commissioner Registration Number: 148
- Jersey Office of the Information Commissioner Registration Number: 65123
- Jersey Financial Services Commission Registration Number: NPO 0269
- Jersey Tax Office, GST Number Registration Number: 0036193
