Salford council cuts threaten deaf children’s education

Parent group, Salford Deaf Children’s Society, has learned that the council is planning to drastically cut the support that 240 deaf children in Salford rely on to learn.  They have launched a petition calling on the council to halt planned cuts, which Salford residents can sign at www.ndcs.org.uk/salford. 

The Salford Deaf Children’s Society was alerted to the cuts after the council sent local schools a document outlining severe cutbacks:

• Two full-time and two part-time qualified Teachers of the Deaf posts (3.6 full time equivalent), cut to one full-time and one part time (1.5 FTE);
• Three full-time and two part-time specialist teaching assistant posts (4.1 FTE), cut to just two (2 FTE).

Lauren and David Walton’s son Sam, now five, was the first baby to be identified as deaf in Salford by the newborn hearing screening programme, introduced in 2006.  This made Sam the first deaf child in the area to get specialist support from birth. 

Lauren now fears that the progress Sam has made will be lost under council proposals: “At the moment, Sam’s doing so well; he shows how successful this support is.  He doesn’t notice that he’s disadvantaged in any way, but if the support’s taken away, he will just fall even further behind at school - it’s making a disabled child even more disadvantaged.”

The National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS), who are campaigning with parents to protect support for Salford’s deaf children, say the services under threat are not an optional extra and are vital for deaf children to achieve at school.

Jo Campion, Deputy Director of Campaigns at NDCS, said: “We are absolutely appalled that the council is considering taking away support from a group of children who need more support, not less, and are calling on the council to immediately halt its plans.  The cuts that Salford City Council is planning to make are some of the worst that we have seen in the country. 

“Deaf children in the region are already underachieving at school, even though deafness is not a learning disability, as 65% of these vulnerable children in the North West fail to achieve five good GCSEs.”

The council has confirmed to parents that a review of support for deaf children is underway, but many families have yet to receive any information on their plans. 

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.

Salford Deaf Children’s Society has until 1 February to gather 3,000 signatures for their petition and trigger consideration of their campaign by the council’s Cabinet.  To find out more about the campaign or to sign the petition visit www.ndcs.org.uk/salford.

Media contact:
Anna Galandzij
Tel: 020 7014 1178                            
Email: anna.galandzij@ndcs.org.uk

Faith Dawes
Tel: 020 7014 1149                            
Email: faith.dawes@ndcs.org.uk

Aine Standen
Tel: 020 7014 1146                            
Email: aine.standen@ndcs.org.uk

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.