Education rights in Northern Ireland

This information is for deaf young people and families of deaf children in Northern Ireland. Read our information for England, Scotland and Wales.

Lots of people don't consider deafness to be a disability. However, even if you don't consider deafness to be a disability, deaf children and young people are protected by the laws in place in Northern Ireland that provide important legal rights for disabled people. 

By law, children and young people with disabilities have the right to education and to have their needs met. This includes children with all types of hearing loss and levels of deafness. Understanding the legal rights of deaf children and young people in education can help to get the support needed. For example: 

• the changes a childcare or education setting should make to include disabled children
• how absences for medical appointments should be recorded
• how exams should be made accessible
• how to make a complaint if you have any concerns

Laws protecting rights

Knowing your rights and being able to voice them when you need to can be very empowering. It can give you the confidence that you're doing everything you can. 

There are 4 key pieces of legislation providing legal rights for disabled children and young people:

• Disability Discrimination Act 1995
• Disability Discrimination (Northern Ireland) Order 2006
• Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) (Northern Ireland) Order 2005
• Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Act (Northern Ireland) 2016.

Under the SEND laws, the Education Authority (EA) and childcare and education settings: 

• can’t discriminate against disabled children or treat them less favourably. For example, an education setting can’t refuse to accept a child simply because they’re deaf. They can't prevent them from doing activities other children are allowed to do
• must make reasonable adjustments to make sure disabled children can get involved
• must promote equality of opportunity for disabled children
• must think about the impact their policies, procedures and decisions have on disabled children and young people. 

These laws apply to people who have a permanent disability. For temporary hearing loss, such as glue ear, the laws may not apply. The laws will apply if the condition has lasted or is likely to last for 12 months or more or is likely to happen again in the next 12 months.

Special educational needs (SEN) and disability

Children and young people have SEN if they have a disability or learning difficulty that means they need extra support in education. Most permanently deaf children will be viewed as having SEN. 

The additional support required to meet the needs of those with SEN is recorded in a plan. This will be one of the following options:

• a personal learning plan (PLP)
• a statement of special educational needs (SEN)

Find out more about SEN and how additional support is provided in Northern Ireland.

Identifying and assessing SEN

Most deaf children and young people will receive practical support in education. This is school-based support.

In some cases, additional support may be needed. A deaf child or young person may be identified as having SEN. This may lead to a statutory assessment for a statement of SEN. Parents and carers, teachers and other professionals can ask for an assessment.

It’s important to identify SEN at an early stage. Education settings must follow a code of practice (Education NI). This means that early education settings and schools should:

• make sure that children with SEN have the greatest possible access to the curriculum
• work in partnership with parents
• know how to get further information and advice if they need it, including from Teachers of the Deaf (ToDs)

Reasonable adjustments in education

Reasonable adjustments are simple or inexpensive changes an education setting can make. These changes help disabled children and young people access learning. By law, education settings must make reasonable adjustments for those who meet the definition of disabled. 

The laws don’t say exactly what is or isn’t a reasonable adjustment. This is because what is ‘reasonable’ depends on different factors, including individual needs and the education setting they’re attending. For example, a very small school in an older building may find it harder to improve their acoustics. A larger school in a modern building and with a bigger budget may find this easier. 

Here are some examples of reasonable adjustments for deaf children and young people:

• staff receiving training on how to use a radio aid
• adjusting the pace and length of a learning session
• using visual cues to support teaching
• creating opportunities for one-to-one and small group work
• checking level of understanding after a lesson
• tutoring before or after a lesson
• providing equipment and technology, such as radio aids or flashing fire alarms
• providing a good listening environment
• making sure staff and students at the school are deaf aware
• writing down homework rather than giving it verbally
• adjustments to help deaf pupils access specific subjects, like foreign languages or music
• meeting communication needs, such as, providing qualified interpreters for pupils using sign language

Some examples of reasonable adjustments for early learning or childcare settings include:

• moving the reading corner to an area with good acoustics and lighting
• adding soft pads or covers to table and chair legs to avoid scraping sounds
• adding curtains, soft fabrics and cushions to open areas to reduce sound reverberation
• whole setting training around deaf awareness and early communication for deaf children

SEN and reasonable adjustments

If a deaf child or young person has a statement of SEN, this will include reasonable adjustments. Education settings must make these reasonable adjustments. 

For deaf children and young people without statements of SEN, speak to the setting about reasonable adjustments. The school can also ask for support from the EA’s Sensory Service (SEND EA NI). This could include deaf awareness training for all the staff at an education setting.

If a setting fails to make reasonable adjustments, this is discrimination. 

Discrimination

If you think you have been discriminated against, contact our Helpline for support. You can also get advice and support on what to do next from the Equality Commission Northern Ireland (Equality NI).

Transport to school

Some children and young people are entitled to free Home to School transport from the EA. For example, deaf children and young people may need help with travel to attend the school named in their statement of SEN. 

Children and young people may be eligible for free school transport if:

• their home-to-school journey is longer than the set walking distance. The set walking distance is 2 miles for children under 11 years old and 3 miles for children aged 11 and over
• their SEN means it’s unreasonable to expect them to walk to school
• the walking route is unsuitable for their age or capability.

In some cases, the EA won't provide transport. You may prefer a school that is beyond the set walking distance. However, if the EA thinks there’s a suitable school with places nearer, they can refuse transport.

A statement of SEN will include if they’re entitled to free school transport. Read the EA's information on Home to School Transport.

Medical conditions

Some deaf children and young people have medical conditions that require support throughout the day. The Special Educational Needs Inclusion Service (SENIS) Medical Needs provides advice and support.

Education settings should take steps to make sure children and young people that need medication are supported. Glue ear and other forms of temporary hearing loss may be regarded as a medical condition. 

Education settings should make sure that:

• those that need medication are supported
• those that need medication have full access to education and activities, like PE and school trips
• staff receive appropriate training
• there is someone in charge of how medication is managed
• they have medical conditions policy that sets out how they will manage medication

Find out how to access SENIS Medical Needs support.

Availability of childcare

The EA must make sure there’s enough or ‘sufficient’ childcare in the area for parents of disabled children. This is set out in the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 (legislation.org.uk).

The EA must provide information to parents about childcare available in the area.

Exam access arrangements

Schools and colleges must make reasonable adjustments for disabled students taking exams. These are called exam access arrangements.

Exam access arrangements for deaf children and young people may involve: 

• extra time
• use of technology such as radio aids or streamers
• a reader (someone who reads exam questions aloud)
• a scribe (someone who writes exam answers down)
• a British Sign Language (BSL) or Irish Sign Language (ISL) interpreter

Exam access arrangements should reflect 'normal ways of working'. Schools and colleges must show exam boards that these are part of a young person's ‘normal way of working’. Talk to the learning support coordinator (LSC) or ToD about exam access arrangements. This should be done well in advance of any exams or assessments. LSCs used to be known as special educational needs coordinators (SENCOs).

Statement of SEN

Deaf young people, with statements of SEN, should have exam access arrangements in place. These arrangements should be discussed at the annual review.

For further information, see:

• our information about exam access arrangements for deaf children and young people
• SEND EA NI information about access arrangements
• Joint Council for Qualification’s (JCQ) information about access arrangements

Missing school for medical appointments

Deaf children and young people may need to miss school for medical appointments. For example, audiology appointments. 

Schools record absences as authorised or unauthorised. Schools should be informed about medical appointments in advance. These should be recorded as authorised absences. Read the Department of Education's information on how absences are recorded. 

If you're concerned about how absences are being recorded, contact our free Helpline.