About us

Close ties with the University of Manchester started at the end of the Great War when the first lectureship in Deaf Education was founded and by 1920 students from the department began their teaching practice at the school.  The first audiometers were used with students in 1929 which led to them being fitted with the latest 'multi-phones' and later with electric amplifiers in 1934 - designed by a research physicist at the University of Manchester.  A post Second World War move to Cheadle Hulme saw the students move into new accommodation.  At the same time increasing numbers of deaf children with additional needs, whose needs could not be met elsewhere, joined the school.

As local authorities began including deaf children in mainstream provision a special unit was opened in 1972 for students with more complex needs and by 1979 a decision was made that the school would specialise only in those pupils with additional and complex needs.  52-week provision began in earnest in 1986, and the school's specialist Deafblind or Multi-Sensory Unit was opened in 1990.

Griffin Lodge, the charity's first residential home for autistic young deaf adults, was built in 1998.  Shortly after, the Special Educational Needs and disability Act of 2001 led to the rapid growth in the number of students being referred to the college on campus. 

By 2005 such were the numbers being refeerred to the college that the building was completely refurbished in 2007 and a new wing was completed in 2008.  Today we are embarking on the most exciting development since moving to Cheadle Hulme.

2018 marks the tenth anniversary of our charity being reconstituted as Seashell Trust.  The name was chosen to both honour our roots as a school for Deaf children and to mark our changing student population.

As early as 1947, Manchester and London were beginning to launch “Partially Hearing Units”, classes in mainstream schools for children with hearing loss which meant families could send their children to schools nearer their home rather than a boarding school. These units were taught by a teacher of the deaf and rapidly spread throughout the country, totalling 502 by 1982.

The 1981 Education Act stated that children with special educational needs such as hearing impairments should, wherever possible, be educated within mainstream schools. Technological advances in hearing aids, FM systems and other devices made it easier for mainstream schools to include Deaf children in classes with their hearing peers, and societal attitudes towards people with disabilities shifted. By the 1990s, schools saw a significant change in society’s expectations as “integration” gave way to “inclusion”. It was no longer enough to bring Deaf children into the mainstream setting; the school itself had a responsibility to include them.

The Royal Schools for the Deaf, as we were then known, became a school for those children and young people whose needs could not be met in mainstream settings – initially those who were profoundly deaf, and later, as their local schools became better equipped to educate students with a wide range of hearing impairment, students with additional needs including autism, visual impairments, learning disabilities and complex health needs.

In order to reflect the changing nature of the cohort, our charity began to use the name ‘Royal School for the Deaf and Communication Disorders’ and focused on developing communication skills for people with a variety of sensory impairments and learning disabilities. Our provision for young adults – initially contained within the school’s Post-16 department – grew until it was decided to operate Royal College Manchester as an independent FE college, separate from the school.

In 2008, we adopted the name ‘Seashell Trust’ – the conch shell, with the shape of the cochlear or inner ear having been our previous logo – and operated Royal School Manchester and Royal College Manchester. Today, young people with a hearing impairment still represent a significant proportion of our student body but all have additional complex needs such as CHARGE syndrome, autism and severe or profound learning disabilities. Many of our learners have no diagnosed hearing loss.

Since 2008, Seashell Trust has seen many exciting changes. The launch of the college’s new Seashell Supported Internship has offered a crucial stepping stone for young people with complex needs who want to enter the world of work, and the school has joined Manchester Teaching School’s Alliance, raising standards for education around Greater Manchester. The Trust was proud to support ‘A Level Playing Field’ project to bring more inclusive sports options to children in youth clubs across the country, and research projects into topics such as olfaction as a communication system, music for people with complex needs and 3D printing for independence continue to improve educational provision for learners around the country.  The Transforming Lives Appeal was launched to support the transformation of the entire campus which started with a £10million investment to create Sir Norman Stoller Way, a close of 17 home-from-home 4 bedroom houses.  The biggest investment since the charity moved to Cheadle Hulme in the early 1950s.

It has always been our belief that everyone – no matter their ability or disability – deserves to be able to communicate. It is only when we are able to express ourselves, understand other people and participate in making decisions that we are able to live truly safe, happy and fulfilling lives, and developing functional communication is key to unlocking a world of opportunity.