Helping deaf children learn to listen and talk

Welcome to The Elizabeth Foundation's website!

We are the UK's largest single provider of education services for babies and preschool children with all degrees of deafness.

We provide Ofsted 'Outstanding' nursery services at our Family Centre in Hampshire. We also offer home learning and support through our innovative Let's Listen and Talk online programme.

We are a charity, registered number 293835.

Our services

We provide a wide range of services to offer deaf children the best possible start in life from birth to five years.

Through all of our services we aim to help young children with all degrees of deafness learn to listen and talk.

Our news

Read the latest updates about our activities helping deaf children

Celebrating Deaf Awareness Week 2023 with new publications and videos

Celebrating Deaf Awareness Week 2023 with new publications and videos

To celebrate this year’s Deaf Awareness Week (1-7 May 2023), The Elizabeth Foundation has released five new videos about its work, published its Listen! Spring/Summer 2023 newsletter, and continued sharing teaching resources on deaf awareness.

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Read our Listen! Spring/Summer 2023 newsletter

Read our Listen! Spring/Summer 2023 newsletter

Read the latest news and updates about our wide range of services and activities in The Elizabeth Foundation’s Listen! Spring/Summer 2023 Newsletter.

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Supporting parents’ communication choices with new sign language course

Supporting parents’ communication choices with new sign language course

The Elizabeth Foundation has always supported the decisions that our parents make when choosing the best ways to help their child learn to communicate. Responding to feedback from our beneficiaries, we have recently launched new instruction for parents in British Sign Language (BSL).

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Help us give deaf children the best possible start in life

Support our work

Our activities

We provide education services for preschool deaf children and support and advice for their families. Being deaf can significantly affect a child’s ability to communicate. However, with modern technology and appropriate intervention during their early years, most deaf children can – and do – learn to communicate clearly and effectively using spoken language.
We provide our services to offer young children with all degrees of deafness the best possible start in life. Many of the deaf children benefiting from our education programmes significantly narrow the gap with their hearing peers – and, just as importantly, they have fun! Our team of Teachers of the Deaf, teaching assistants and specialist Speech and Language Therapists provides expert support tailored to the needs of each individual child.
We provide Ofsted ‘Outstanding’ educational services for deaf babies, toddlers and preschoolers at our purpose-built Family Centre in Portsmouth, Hampshire. We also offer regular "Listen! Group" sessions for children with unaided deafness, and for children with additional and more complex needs. For families all over the UK and Ireland who are unable to travel to our Family Centre on a regular basis, we provide support through our innovative Let’s Listen and Talk online educational programme and our popular Summer Residential Programme.
“At the point I was told my tiny baby was deaf, I experienced huge uncertainty and fear for the future which I shall never forget. My son couldn’t hear me and I didn’t know how to help him. “It was at that point that Zach and I were introduced to The Elizabeth Foundation. We were welcomed with open arms into a centre which was to take my fear away, and achieve with Zach what I had feared for him was unachievable." Read more in the 'Our Stories' section of our website.
With over three decades of experience providing hands-on education services, we are one of the leading charities supporting babies and young children with all degrees of deafness in the UK.

What people say

Ryan’s story
The Elizabeth Foundation was an amazing place for me and my family, and they have helped us all through a hard time in our lives. It will always be a special place... (more…)
Rachel Elgie and David Hobbs
We were bowled over by the passion and enthusiasm of everybody in the team and made an instant decision to concentrate all our future efforts towards the charity... (more…)
Imogen’s story
The Elizabeth Foundation is not just a charity or a building, it is a stepping stone to lifelong friendships, a place of happy memories and consistent support for families with deaf children. We will forever be grateful for their support!!... (more…)
Glanvilles
After seeing first-hand the amazing work that The Elizabeth Foundation does for deaf children it was no contest when our firm chose our new local charity.... (more…)
Toby’s story
My hope is that Toby grows up a deaf child, proud of who he is and with every opportunity available to him. Thanks to the wonderful support we’ve had as a family from The Elizabeth Foundation, that certainly seems possible... (more…)
Ofsted
This provision is outstanding. Staff promote children's communication and language skills exceptionally well using highly effective strategies, giving children the confidence to join in... (more…)
Mia’s story
Without the excellent and continued support of The Elizabeth Foundation, Mia would not be making the fantastic progress she is... (more…)
BBC Children in Need
The Elizabeth Foundation provides a warm, welcoming and supportive environment that is critical to assisting with the progress of each child... (more…)
Kyle’s story
We will be forever thankful to all at The Elizabeth Foundation – you have most certainly made a huge impact on Kyle’s development... (more…)
Dame Evelyn Glennie, CH, DBE
The Elizabeth Foundation ... an organisation changing the lives of deaf children every day, in the most considered, imaginative and practical ways! (more…)
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