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National Deaf Children’s Society and Family Fund launch new UK-wide support programme

Family Fund has partnered with the National Deaf Children’s Society to launch a new UK-wide programme supporting families of children with hearing loss aged 11 and under.

The new programme will support around 600 families across the UK, providing funding for essential assistive technology and British Sign Language (BSL) learning to help deaf children communicate, learn and thrive at home, in education, and in everyday life.

With a total grant value of over £400,000, the programme will fund vital technology to support children’s hearing and communication needs, alongside BSL courses to help families communicate more effectively and support their child’s development.

By supporting both technology and language learning, the programme aims to remove barriers to inclusion and enhance the lives of deaf children and their families.

Deaf children can face barriers from an early age, particularly when services, education, and everyday environments are not designed with deafness in mind.

Many families experience delays in accessing the right support, face additional costs linked to communication and learning, or struggle to access support that enables their child to feel more included at home, in school, and in the wider community.

Without the right tools and understanding in place, these challenges can affect children’s development at a crucial stage.

This programme has been designed to respond directly to those challenges, offering practical support where it is most needed.

Family Fund will deliver the programme on behalf of the National Deaf Children’s Society, combining Family Fund’s expertise in grant delivery with the charity’s specialist knowledge of deafness, family support and inclusion.

Cheryl Ward CBE, Group Chief Executive of Family Fund

“Families raising deaf children often face additional costs and delays in accessing the right support at a crucial stage of their child’s development. This new partnership with the National Deaf Children’s Society will help remove some of those barriers by providing practical support where it can make a real difference.

“By funding both assistive technology and British Sign Language learning, this programme supports not just children’s communication needs, but the whole family’s ability to connect, learn and thrive together. We are proud to deliver this programme and work alongside the National Deaf Children’s Society to help ensure deaf children have the tools and opportunities they need to reach their full potential.”

Applications will be made through the Family Fund and are open now.