Attainment campaign - case studies

NDCS regularly comes into contact with parents who are unhappy with the education provided to their deaf children. Below are some case studies from across the UK that outline some of the experiences parents of deaf children encounter. 

“My daughter Emily is seven years old and is severely-profoundly deaf. We have had to push for all the support she gets in school.

"I feel that the education system is lacking for deaf children. Teachers are often unsure of how to ‘teach’ a deaf child, often leaving them to their own resources.

"We are worried about Emily’s attainment levels and fear she isn’t reaching her full potential. The teachers, though great at teaching, do not change their methods to meet the needs of deaf children.  

"She is falling behind and, even with the extra work we are doing at home, the education department is not being held accountable for ensuring our daughter will leave school with age appropriate maths and literacy.

"They fail to see that the only problem my daughter has is she can't hear properly. It is not that she can't learn. She has to struggle through her education in a very intensive orally delivered curriculum. No wonder learning is hard.”

Take action to help children like Emily - write to your MP.

“My son Gareth was diagnosed with a moderate hearing loss when he was three years old. When he went to school, the only advice they gave him to help him hear in lessons was to sit at the front of the class.

“We have had to struggle to get the support he needs at school. The teachers brushed Gareth’s deafness aside, saying, 'He’s fine, he’s doing well.' But how do we know if he’s underperforming? He needs more help but the support isn’t there.”

Take action to help children like Gareth - write to your MP.

John attends a mainstream school and has had a communication support worker helping him in the classroom four days a week since he started school. John is profoundly deaf and needs the communication support worker to help him understand what is being said in the lessons.

John recently moved up to Primary 7 at the same school and suddenly found that his communication support worker was only going to be working with him one day a week. His family had not been warned of this cut back and when his parents questioned the decision they were told that there was another pupil who needed assistance and that his support was being cut to provide this support.

John had previously been assessed as requiring support over four days for six years. He has now entered his final year of primary school with a quarter of his previous communication support provision – not because he has been assessed as requiring less support, but because the resources simply aren’t available.

John’s parents are outraged and very upset. They feel that this cut back will put their son at a disadvantage as he prepares to make the transition from primary to secondary school.

Take action to help children like John - write to your MP.

Susan describes finding appropriate education for her 11 year old son Thomas as “a living nightmare.” The family faced countless setbacks and rejections in their bid to get their son into a good school.

Thomas is profoundly deaf and due to problems with local education provision the family had to fight for a place for him at a residential school in England. Susan explains: “We had to fight for nine months to get Thomas into the school that would meet his needs. It was heartbreaking to think that he would have to study so far away from home, but when it comes to your child’s education you have to do what is right for them”.

Susan knows that Thomas is a bright boy with "so much potential." The family were astonished when the Education Board initially refused to fund his placement and claimed that he had failed the psychological assessment. They were even more outraged when they learnt the assessment process had not taken his deafness into consideration and that the psychologist had no experience of working with deaf children. The family demanded a new test and eventually the Education Board agreed that Thomas was capable of moving on to the new school and that they would fund his place.

Take action to help children like Thomas - write to your MP.