Deaf-specialist teachers are a lifeline – the state must not cut them | Josh Salisbury

As a deaf person I know the value of these teachers. If the government took education seriously it wouldn’t allow numbers to fall

How much is a child’s education worth? If they’re deaf, not even £4m it seems. Or at least that’s how much will be cut by English councils from their deaf educational support budgets this year, according to analysis by the National Deaf Children’s Society. It follows massive reductions that have already occurred in the number of specialist teachers employed by councils to support deaf children and their families. The charity estimates that one in 10 have been axed over the past four years.

I’m deaf in both ears. I wear hearing aids and rely heavily on lip-reading. I had a specialist teacher in my mainstream primary and secondary schools, and the support was crucial to me succeeding. The picture for deaf and hard-of-hearing children in education today is bleak. They fall behind their peers at every stage in school, and Department for Education statistics show around 60% don’t achieve government GCSE targets.

Related: Deaf children losing out as English councils cut support, charity warns

Related: Educational support for deaf children in England 'in complete disarray'

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from Children | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2k59HNZ