A hearing charity which received a substantial grant from the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership has been graded as ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted.
In April (2015) The Ear Foundation charity opened the £700,000 ‘Sherman Centre’ (Pictured) at its headquarters in Lenton, Nottingham, to extend its facilities to help deaf children and adults with the latest hearing technologies. The project received £120,000 from D2N2’s Unlocking Investment for Growth (UI4G) programme, which was designed to help businesses bridge funding gaps for projects which could create jobs.
Since the Sherman Centre’s opening, the Ear Foundation have gone on to win the Medilink ‘Outstanding Achievement Award’ in June (2015), receive a further £5,000 from the One Family Foundation, which allowed it to further improve its offer to children, young people and adults, and following a recent visit from Government regulatory body Ofsted, has been graded as ‘Outstanding’.
The Sherman Centre offers children, young people and adults access to the latest hearing technologies, as well as fully qualified staff who can support and help them.
Ofsted review all educational facilities on a range of factors and grade them accordingly, with ‘Outstanding’ being the best, followed by ‘Good’, ‘Requires Improvement’ and ‘Inadequate’, which is the worst rating an educational facility can receive.
Upon its review of the Ear Foundation, Ofsted looked at several key factors, notably:
- How the organisation works in partnership to improve outcomes for children and young people (Outstanding)
- The effectiveness of leaders and managers (Outstanding)
- How well children and young people are helped and protected (Good)
and
- The overall experiences of children and young people (Outstanding)
Dr Sue Archbold, Chief Executive of The Ear Foundation, has previously said the new facilities and organisational growth would not have been possible without the D2N2 grant.
David Ralph, D2N2 Chief Executive, said: “The business support grants provided through D2N2 are about delivering sustainable jobs, particularly in our key sectors such as healthcare, in which the charity works.”
Further information about the Ear Foundation can be obtained from the charity’s Chief Executive, Dr Sue Archbold, on 0115 942 1985, or by emailing sue@earfoundation.org.uk
