01 Feb 2012
Children with hearing loss could be left behind from the
government's drive to improve literacy and numeracy, the National Deaf Children's Society
(NDCS) has warned.
Key Stage Two results published in December
show that deaf children are still failing to attain good standards
of literacy and numeracy, which the society attributes to a lack of
specialist support in the classroom. This situation will be
exacerbated when local authorities go ahead with plans to cut
services for deaf children, it added.
Nearly two-thirds of deaf children are
leaving primary school without achieving good academic standards,
compared with just 19 per cent of children without special
educational needs, the report revealed. The NDCS is urging councils
around the country not to cut specialist Teachers of the Deaf from
their budgets.
"Even though deafness is not a learning
disability, it is going to be almost impossible for deaf children
to make up this lost ground at secondary school," said Jo Campion,
deputy director of policy and campaigns at the NDCS. "Unless
councils protect the vital support that deaf children need to
learn, we are going to see them falling even further behind."
In August, the charity took legal action
against Stoke-on-Trent City Council over its cuts to educational
support for children with hearing loss, after the authority halved
the number of visiting Teachers of the Deaf it supports.
If you think you may have a hearing loss why not take our
online hearing check questionnaire or make an
appointment to have a free hearing test at your nearest
Amplifon branch.
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