Why Deaf education matters

The National Deaf Children's Society estimates that English councils will be cutting £4m from their deaf education support budgets this year.

The move follows massive reductions already made in terms of 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.

Too often, Deaf children fall behind their peers at every stage in school, and Department for Education statistics show around 60% don’t meet government GCSE targets.

We feel these are worrying developments, since Deaf teachers do so much more than just offer sign language - they offer a great deal of emotional support as well. And, of course, you can only educate each child once!

Photo: Alamy