Deaf Education in the past

With the recent increased national focus on the impact of Government cuts on today's deaf education, some readers might wish to learn more about deaf education in the past decades.

Last year we shared a post which give a fascinating insight into life for deaf children in the 1950s.

Recently Sussex Deaf History have shared a very interesting exhibition about  Deaf Education in the Seventies. The online exhibition, part of the Hidden Histories: Intercultural Dialogue project is very insight and worth a visit. Want to learn more...click here

Look, it's Tara in the Mirror!

Member Tara Forkin made it into the national press as the Daily Mirror reported on the row about the fall in GCSE results for deaf children following cuts to education budgets across the country.

Fortunately in Peterborough there are no cuts reported at the moment and Tara tells the paper how well she has been supported. Long may it continue. Coming in for particular praise is the Teacher of the Deaf and the support received in class. Tara said:

“I definitely would not have achieved my grades without the support put in place for me,” said Tara, of Peterborough.

“My Teacher of the Deaf was very in tune with my needs and the areas I needed to brush up on in revision sessions, I’m really lucky to have such a fantastic teacher of the deaf.”
Tara says she loves having extra support with her lessons as it stops her from having the extra burden of worrying she has missed something or having to clarify points discussed after every lesson.

“She is able to get this support because she has a statement of special educational needs, which stipulates that she must have support from a Teacher of the Deaf to advise on use of equipment and a Teaching Assistant.

She added: “Deaf children face many challenges in school, every day. Classrooms are noisy and there are no allowances made for this. I would ask the Government not to make cuts to deaf children’s services. Deaf children cannot progress without support in school, it’s that simple.”

Full story here

Government cuts cause fall in GCSE results say NDCS

The UK's largest charity for deaf children  NDCS (National Deaf Children's Society) reported on Friday that only 37% of deaf children achieved five A* to C grades at GCSE compared to 69% of their hearing peers. In addition to that, for the first time, the number of deaf children achieving A* to C grades fell by 2.4%. This is a grave sign for the education of Britain's deaf children. 

NDCS Deputy Campaigns director went on BBC Radio 5 Live yesterday to explain the findings and why parents of deaf children should be concerned. You can listen to the programme here or read the transcript here. 

Locally, according to the NDCS cuts map, there are no cuts to education in Peterborough but NDCS has been asking parents of deaf children at Middleton School for their views following news that staffing provision had been reduced. 

NDCS want your views on Middleton and deaf education in Peterborough

The National Deaf Children's Society (NDCS) have emailed parents in Peterborough asking them to complete a survey about education services for deaf children, in the wake of a reduction of teachers of the deaf at Middleton School.

Middleton School, which has long been the home of the specialist support for primary age deaf children in Peterborough, is coming under closer scrutiny after parents raised concerns with NDCS that support for deaf children was under threat. NDCS are also probing educational support for deaf children of all ages across the city as part of their Stolen Futures campaign

NDCS Campaigner Gary Nethercott emailed parents and PDDCS yesterday:

You may be aware that Middleton Primary School in Peterborough has reduced its numbers of Teachers of the Deaf. If your child attends Middleton Primary School, we would like to get an idea from you about what you think of the level and quality of support your child receives at the School.

If your child does not attend Middleton Primary School, we would like to know what you think of the support you and your child receive from Peterborough Council. Please complete our questionnaire, the information you give us is important as it could alert us to problems in your area and prompt us to take action to combat these issues if necessary. Thank you for taking the time to complete this questionnaire.

You may also wish to know that you can contact our helpline on 0808 800 8880 if you would like to talk to someone at NDCS about Teacher of the Deaf support at Middleton Primary School and/or the support you receive from Peterborough Council.

We look forward to receiving your feedback.

Gary Nethercott

You can find the survey here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JJY8GL2

NDCS Campaign against cuts to education needs you!

NDCS are looking for your help to get 100,000 signatures to force the government to protect specialist services for deaf children. NDCS's recent report shows that services are being cut and threatened all across the country putting deaf children's futures in jeopardy. 

In Peterborough, the latest news is that the budget for deaf children is being increased and no staff cuts are planned in either the education or health service relating to services for deaf children - although NDCS are keeping tabs on the situation with a review due on 2012-13. The news is similar in the Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire areas. Check out your area on the cuts map.

Despite the reasonably positive news in our areas at the moment. The axe could fall at any time and has already in many areas of the UK with consequences for the future of deaf children. It's important that we keep the pressure on.

NDCS have nearly 17,000 signatures already, and to keep the momentum going they'’ve decided to hit the road with the NDCS Listening Bus. 100,000 signatures will force the Government to debate the issue in Parliament and intervene where councils are making harmful cuts. NDCS need PDDCS support to get the signatures - are you in?

The Bus will be in Theatre Plain at The Forum in Norwich city centre, Saturday 15^th December, from 10am to 4pm and they’re looking for people to come along on the day and collect signatures. Everyone is welcome for the whole day, but NDCS say that they appreciate that Saturdays are busy so even if you can only spare an hour, or just want to come and show support, they would really appreciate your help! Children are also very welcome.

Everyone who volunteers to help gather signatures will be given a T-shirt and clear instructions about what to do on the day. There will also be a short session from 10am to 10.30am to provide those who are interested with some more background to the petition and some campaigns hints and tips. Reasonable travel costs will be reimbursed and refreshments provided.

If you can't make it to Norwich, you can also promote the campaign by sharing this story or posting the link to the petition on your Facebook wall or via twitter. 100,000 signatures is possible - but only if you can do something to help too.

Pickles apparently not interested in deaf children

NDCS (National Deaf Children's Society) Campaign Team are reporting today that Communities and Local Government Secretary, Eric Pickles, has slammed the door on deaf children by refusing to meet with the charity.

NDCS have published a survey that showed 25% of all local authorities are cutting services for deaf children and what's more, refusing to share information or acknowledge the damage these cuts could be making.

NDCS Chief Executive, Susan Daniels, wrote to Mr Pickles to request a meeting but he refused to the disappointment of families of deaf children across the country. NDCS are now asking for all parents of deaf children take action by emailing your MP or signing their petition.

The situation in Peterborough is not so bleak with an increase in the budget for deaf children in the current year. However, with a review on the horizon, there is no harm in making your views know to the City Council too.

Read more about the effect of cuts to services for deaf children on Ian Noon's blog.

One Teacher of the Deaf for 95 Deaf Children..NDCS Slams Islington Council

Islington News reports today that NDCS (National Deaf Children's Society) have criticised Islington Council for their woeful provision of teaching support for deaf children.

According to NDCS, Islington only provide one specialist Teacher of the Deaf for 95 deaf children in the borough. That's almost double the average workload and all going on right under the nose of NDCS who are based in .. you guessed it.. Islington! The Council were not going to get away with it for long..

The local MP is getting involved too. Emily Thornberry, MP for Islington south and Finsbury, who has added her weight to the campaign, said: 

“I am writing to the local authority asking them to have a look at the problem and how we can get together to make sure deaf children get the help they need. Some children are being left out in the cold and we need to know why.”

In Peterborough, the good news is that there will be no cuts to the service for deaf children but that's not the story in many places across the UK. The NDCS Cuts Map show the damage but pressure on councils is paying off to reverse some of the cuts being imposed on the education of deaf children and their families. 

Lets hope this one gets sorted before they end up in court too..

Battles rage against cuts to deaf kids services

A tale of two cities this week as the fightback against cuts in services for deaf children builds up steam.

Stoke

NDCS campaigners in Stoke have forced the council to review their decision to cut services for deaf children after they forced a judicial review which halted any cuts anyway until the case could be heard in the High Court.  Councillor Debra Gratton, cabinet member for children's services, said the decision supported by full council to reduce spending on services for deaf children had been "very difficult" to make.

"But the welfare and education of all the city's children is, and always will be, very important.
"We have listened to the arguments made by the National Deaf Children's Society, and we have listened to parents, children and teachers.
"In light of this, it has been agreed that the original decisions be reviewed, following proper and meaningful consultation, to help us to continue to provide the best level of services for city children."

Protests in Stoke

The council also cried foul over the potential costs of the court case which the council claim is a waste of tax payers money. Funny that the same argument wasn't made when they increased the pay of their Chief Executive by £50,000 to £195,000 (a 34% increase) at the height of the recession in 2010. See the BBC Story here.
No wonder parents in Stoke are angry..


Southampton
Ahead of  the council's meeting this week where cuts to services for deaf children will be discussed, hundred of parents have signed a petition asking for the reinstatement of a part-time teacher of the deaf. NDCS already say that Southampton has the worst level of school back-up for deaf children in the entire country but, apparently not content with that, Southampton council could make it even worse.

Tracey Pettit, whose nine-year-old son William is deaf, said: 

"We are overwhelmed at the level of support that residents of Southampton have given our petition to save services for deaf children.
"It shows how much everyone cares about the right of deaf children to thrive in school and beyond."

Again, BBC takes it up..

PDDCS sends its good wishes to Stoke and Southampton..

Confirmed: No Cuts to Hearing Support in Peterborough

Peterborough Town Hall

Exclusive

Good news for the city's deaf children and their families as PDDCS gets it confirmed that there will be no cuts to the budget in 2011/12

NDCS's Cuts Map still shows that there is no information from Peterborough but we had it confirmed by the Head of Inclusion and Sensory Support, Claire George, who emailed to say: 

"I am able to confirm that there are no planned cuts to the sensory service budget in the current financial year."

In addition, Claire George also said that they had filled in a long and detailed questionnaire about funding for the service in response to a freedom of information request from NDCS.

That's great news - but PDDCS now wonders what's going to happen next year...

NDCS stopping cuts to education for deaf children in Stoke, but what's happening here?

Not so fast Stoke....NDCS take on Stoke Council at the High Court

Great news from the BBC that NDCS have forced Stoke Council to take their planned cuts to the hearing support service to a judicial review in the High Court. The review means that the cuts won't go ahead unless a judge approves them, all the arguments will now be made in a courtroom, rather than the council chamber.

Winning  a review is a small but very important victory on the road to protecting the education for deaf children in Stoke and sends a message about how NDCS mean business. 

The NDCS campaign 'Take Action' aims to fight cuts to children's services for deaf children all over the country - but what is happening in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire? 

Despite requests from NDCS for information, the picture in Peterborough is unclear.  Check this map out for information from around the country to see what is going on, although sadly, there's not much news from our neck of the woods. 

You can find out for yourself and pass the information on to NDCS (they don't seem to be getting any joy) and urge the councils in our areas to protect our services if they plan to cut them. All you have to do is click here and follow the instructions to send a message to your local council leader.  

Will only take a minute but might make an important difference