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Australia's first television series designed to help deaf and hard of hearing children develop early literacy, numeracy and communication skills is now being aired on ABC TWO.
The Queensland Department of Education was the driving force behind the development of the 30 episode series Sally and the Possum, which is targeted at kids aged 4-8 years old who use Australian sign language (Auslan) as their first language.
Queensland Education Minister Kate Jones said the series is about supporting the development of an inclusive and universal kindergarten program in the year before 'big'' school.
"The series was locally produced in collaboration with early childhood teachers of the deaf, experts in early childhood language and literacy and members of Queensland's deaf and signing community," said Ms Jones.
The series uses play-based learning techniques to boost early literacy and numeracy development and includes an Australian English voiceover to enable sibling and carers to follow the story.
According to Ms Jones, the first series focuses on pre-reading concepts for younger children, including concepts such as 'up and down', 'hot and cold', and 'smooth and rough', while the second series targets children from five years helping them develop early reading skills.
A Sally and Possum website has also been developed to complement the series and includes two integrated and mobile Apps to help children build on the concepts featured in the show.
In Queensland close to 500 children receive lessons in the use of Auslan, including many children aged from four to eight years old who rely on Auslan as their primary mode of communication.
Disability Services Minister Coralee O'Rourke said it was essential the series had been developed in consultation with the deaf community and in partnership with early learning experts, to ensure it was both inclusive and educational.
"This innovative and engaging series means young children, who use Auslan as their primary means of communication, can access similar educational programs to their peers," said Mrs O'Rourke.
"The pace of the program allows young children to process multiple elements such as signing, speaking, and written or other visual elements, all while having a good time.
"Each episode uses an engaging mix of animation and real life footage to help capture the imagination of a young audience, while fostering a sense of identity, belonging and connectedness," she said.
The Sally and Possum television series can be watched on ABC KIDS or streamed from ABC iView or via the website www.sallyandpossum.edu.au
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