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Just one in 20 teachers in the South East of England think the current education system allows deaf children to hit their full potential, a new survey from the National Deaf Children’s Society reveals.
The poll, of around 5,700 primary and secondary school teachers from across England, released today, found six in ten teachers in the South East believe deaf children will continue to underachieve at school without changes to the current system.
- Only 5% of teachers in the South East of England believe no changes are needed to the current system for deaf children to reach their full potential.
- Deaf children already achieve an entire grade less at GCSE, even though deafness is not a learning disability.
- Charity calls on Government to invest in more specialist staff to support deaf students and prevent them falling behind at school.
Even though deafness is not a learning disability, deaf children already achieve less than their hearing classmates at every stage of school on average.
In August, the charity revealed deaf pupils achieved an entire grade less at GCSE, for the seventh consecutive year.
Pupils failed
The National Deaf Children’s Society says deaf young people are being consistently failed by the education system.
The Department for Education is currently reviewing how disabled children are supported in schools as part of its Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Review.
Teacher numbers for deaf slashed
The charity urges the Government to use this opportunity to develop a plan to provide effective, long-term specialist support. It wants to see investment in more Teachers of the Deaf, whose numbers have been slashed by 17% in a decade.
Teachers of the Deaf are qualified teachers who have taken further training and qualified to teach children with a hearing loss. They provide support to deaf children, their parents and family, and to other professionals who are involved with a child’s education, particularly mainstream schools which may only have one deaf pupil.
Without this investment, the charity says there could be a long-term, devastating effect on deaf children’s education, with future generations also left to struggle.
5,800 deaf children in the South East
There are currently around 33,000 deaf children in schools across England, with the vast majority (84%) in mainstream schools. There are around 5,800 deaf children in the South East.
Mike Hobday, Director of Policy and Campaigns at the National Deaf Children’s Society, said: “The overwhelming message from teachers across England is that the current system prevents them from helping deaf children to reach their full potential in school, which is a damning indictment.
“Deaf children already achieve less than their hearing classmates at every stage of school and it is gut-wrenching that most teachers do not believe this will change.
“The Government must use the SEND review to finally level the playing field for deaf pupils by investing in more Teachers of the Deaf. Failing to do so will leave thousands of deaf children to struggle on alone.”
The National Deaf Children’s Society
- The National Deaf Children’s Society is the leading charity dedicated to creating a world without barriers for deaf children and their families.
- Three babies are born deaf in the UK every day.
- There are more than 50,000 deaf children in the UK. We help them thrive by providing impartial, practical and emotional support, and by challenging governments and society to meet their needs.
- For more information on their work please, visit www.ndcs.org.uk