Anita Grover - chief executive of Auditory Verbal UK talks through her week as the charity implements a new strategy. Grover, who is profoundly deaf and wears a cochlear implant, is passionate about supporting all deaf children to achieve their potential whether they use sign language, spoken language or both.

At the beginning of November, Auditory Verbal (AV) UK launched a new strategy which outlines its plan to ensure every family who wants their deaf child to learn to listen and talk to be able to access an Auditory Verbal programme through the NHS and publicly funded services in their local area.

Monday

On Mondays I usually work from home, and I start my day with breakfast with my 12-year-old twins before they head off to school. My first meeting is with the clinical leads where we are discussing plans for forthcoming conferences, where we will be sharing some of our latest research on the outcomes that deaf children who have followed an AV programme in their early years.

My next meeting is with our fundraising team, where we are reviewing progress with each of our income streams. We are fortunate to have several organisations and individuals who fund our work. Their funding is supporting families with deaf children who cannot afford the programme because it is not currently available through the NHS and professionals who can receive a bursary to help train in AV practice. Central to our mission is securing the necessary investment to ensure every deaf child can access a programme through the NHS.

I try to get out for a walk at lunch whenever possible and the sun is shining today so I am heading out before grabbing some lunch and checking emails. This afternoon I chair our EDI steering group, where we are undertaking a quarterly review of our action plan and discussing our work exploring equity in our organisation. With our strategy launching tomorrow, the rest of the afternoon is spent contacting stakeholders to share our ambition for the next 10 years and the importance of working together as a sector to improve outcomes for all deaf children.

Tuesday

I’m heading into our Bermondsey centre this morning. I grab a coffee and start by checking
my news feeds on social media. I’m a big fan of the Blinkist app, so I use time on the train to read the summary of a couple of books. We launch our new strategy this morning and I join the communications team for a meeting to run over our plans for the day and celebrate all the work that has been done in preparation. Since the pandemic, AV sessions for families have been delivered through a hybrid approach depending on the family’s preference and on Tuesdays we welcome families into the London centre. I’m looking forward to seeing the children and hearing about the progress they have been making on the programme. One of the children spots my cochlear implant and it is always wonderful to see their reaction to other people who have a device like they do.

This morning I am also meeting with our clinical lead who has returned from maternity leave. We are planning a presentation of our work to the First Voice Network, where we are sharing our collective experience of our programmes with colleagues in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa and identifying further ways of supporting each other. After lunch, I attend a virtual meeting of the Charity Next Advisory Board. This board oversees the secondment programme organised by the Whitehall and Industry Group in conjunction with the Cabinet Office for fast stream civil servants to develop their experience in the charity sector on secondments. We have hosted 15 secondees over the past few years and benefited from their skills and expertise whilst providing valuable insight and experience on key areas of our work.

Toward the end of the day, I speak to a journalist from a national Sunday newspaper about the need for early support to be available for all deaf children, whether their parents choose to communicate with spoken language, sign language or both. A disrupted train journey home is not the best end to a day, but seeing the children we support and colleagues in person means it’s been a good day.

Wednesday

Today starts by walking one of my sons to school before we have our breakfast club - a drop-in meeting for all staff to connect, chat and bring suggestions or thoughts on current issues. We started these meetings during the pandemic and they are now a firm fixture in our calendars. Today we are talking about our programme of lived experience sessions where we invite colleagues and those outside of the organisation to share their experiences.

This morning I have a planning session with our head of communications and engagement to discuss reactions to our strategy launch and forthcoming meetings with key stakeholders. Our Hear Us Now campaign has been targeting government, MPs and key stakeholders, and later this morning I’m speaking to several MPs about exactly what difference the investment will make. One of the benefits of hybrid and flexible working, and living close to my sons’ schools, is that I can make it to their football matches.

On return from the match it’s time for a cuppa before a meeting with the chair about our next board meeting, as well as progress over the last month and plans for our annual strategy day.

Thursday

This morning I start my day with a quick call with our senior AV therapist and research manager who is based in our Bicester centre. Then it’s our fortnightly senior management meeting and today we are focusing on staff well-being time for more coffee and then I’m catching up with our family support manager who has been working on our parent survey to seek views on the services we have provided this year and how we can continue to develop and improve. My afternoon is focused on our training programme in AV practice.

Friday

Friday is usually my non-working day, but one of the benefits of flexible and hybrid working is being able to spread my work time. This morning, after a swim and coffee with a friend, I’m working on my presentation about the future of habilitation for children with cochlear
implants, which I will be delivering in Rotterdam at the European Cochlear Implant Users Conference.

I finish up work for the week by sending my weekly note for our round up of the week’s activities across the organisation which is sent to all staff. Then it’s time to meet my children from school, catch up on their day and get ready for their football training and weekend of fixtures.

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