Funding for deaf children’s education in Warwickshire under threat

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, www.ndcs.org.uk/warwickshire, 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.

Jo Campion, NDCS Deputy Director of Policy and Campaigns, said: “The support that Warwickshire County Council is refusing to fund for many deaf children is not an optional extra – it is vital for deaf children to be able to achieve at school. We are 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.  Deaf children’s education must be made a priority.”

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dark on the changes, with some parents only finding out about the situation after support for their deaf children was withdrawn.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

The Council’s Teachers of the Deaf provide invaluable specialist support for deaf children and their families, helping them to develop crucial language skills and to access their education.  This support cannot be replaced by other staff without the specialist qualifications that Teachers of the Deaf have.

Parents of deaf children in Warwickshire have until 7 February to gather 1,000 signatures for their petition. To find out more about the campaign or sign the petition visit www.ndcs.org.uk/warwickshire.

ENDS
For further information, interviews and to attend the Bus, which will be opposite the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon, CV37 6BB, on Saturday 28 January, 9.30am-1.30pm, please contact:
Anna Galandzij
Tel: 020 7014 1178   M: 07910559739 Email: anna.galandzij@ndcs.org.uk
Aine Standen
Tel: 020 7014 1146   M: 07551252257    Email: aine.standen@ndcs.org.uk
Jo Campion (in Stratford-Upon-Avon on Saturday)
M: 07877390656

About NDCS and childhood deafness
• NDCS is the leading charity dedicated to creating a world without barriers for deaf children and young people.
• For more information on childhood deafness parents can contact the NDCS Freephone Helpline on 0808 800 8880 (voice and text), email helpline@ndcs.org.uk, chat online at www.ndcs.org.uk/livechat or visit www.ndcs.org.uk.