Funding for deaf children’s education in Warwickshire under threat

Parents of deaf children in Warwickshire are today launching a campaign against Warwickshire County Council as it pulls education funding for 100 deaf children, a move which the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) warns is jeopardising deaf children’s future.

Parents have learnt that the council has begun charging schools for time with specialist Teachers of the Deaf and teaching assistants. They fear that funding for their deaf children’s education will stop, as schools don’t have any extra funds to buy specialist services in.

A group of parents, backed by NDCS, has launched an online petition to halt the council’s plans to pull this essential funding for 100 deaf children in Warwickshire. Parents will be in the centre of Stratford-Upon-Avon on Saturday morning, with the NDCS Listening Bus, asking local residents to sign the petition.

NDCS is calling on the council to urgently reverse the move to charge schools for a service that deaf children rely on to learn. Even though deafness is not a learning disability, deaf children are already underachieving at school – 74% of these vulnerable children in the West Midlands fail to get five good GCSEs.  

The council has kept parents in the dark on the changes, with some parents only finding out about the situation after support for their deaf children was withdrawn.

Emma Guest, mum of twin girls, Daisy and Melissa, aged 5, says that her daughters have already lost support from a specialist teaching assistant. She worries they will also lose visits from their Teacher of the Deaf:

“Without all the specialist support that Daisy and Melissa have received, they would not be where they are now. If the support is taken away, my daughters will fall behind at school. I’m appalled that the council is putting their future at risk.”

Following a Freedom of Information request issued by NDCS, the council stated that it will be charging schools to provide specialist support for deaf pupils with “lower levels of need” – 100 out of 230 deaf children in Warwickshire. At least 63 schools will not receive additional funding to pay for the help that these vulnerable children need.

Parents and NDCS are concerned that schools will decide not to pay for the specialist support that is crucial to meet deaf children’s unique needs, and that these children will be left to fall behind their classmates.

Parents of deaf children in Warwickshire have until 7 February to gather 1,000 signatures for their petition.

More information:   

NDCS campaign to save services for deaf children in Warwickshire 

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