Debate contribution: Support for Deaf Children

Debate contribution by Mr David Brooks on 21 October 2024.

MLA

Mr David Brooks

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

21 October 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Support for Deaf Children

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4604150

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I thank the Member who moved the motion. All of us who are speaking to the motion have the common aim that deaf children and young people are appropriately provided for in our education system in a way that allows them to flourish in the way that we wish for all our children but understands that those who have additional support needs must have them fulfilled so that they can reach their full potential. While many aspects of this specific element of our education system are relatively new to me and have required research and learning to enable me to speak to the motion, the principle is similar to the ambition that we have and share across party divides for those with other special educational support needs. I know that I will seek to build upon — sorry, I think that I have left something out. There are over 1,400 deaf children and young people in Northern Ireland. A significant majority of them attend mainstream schools, but there is specialist provision in a number of locations. I am particularly aware that one school with such provision is Cregagh Primary School in my constituency and council area. That school is well loved and highly thought-of in the community of Cregagh. The Consortium for Research in Deaf Education (CRIDE) report on Northern Ireland noted that there was a vacancy rate of around 3% for teacher of the deaf posts. It also raised concerns about falling numbers, noting a 7% fall in TODs in employment since 2011. We will all — no one more than the Minister — have a common wish to ensure that teaching provision is maintained at an appropriate level. There appeared to be promising progress too, however. On the age profile of TODs, the report noted that 23% were over the age of 50, which is a significant drop from 2021, when answers to the same question suggested that the number was much more unsustainable at 40%. The report draws attention to the fact that some of the data considered should be viewed with caution. Inconsistencies in the response rates to survey questions over the years make it difficult to draw conclusions from valid comparisons, particularly from surveys taken prior to 2019. That does not detract from the many useful issues raised by the report, which can use only the data that is available, a point for reflection in and of itself. The report rightly says that it should form the basis of discussion and further analysis rather than of firm conclusions. On that basis, I look forward to hearing from the Minister, who, I hope, will give us an up-to-date overview of the sector's current landscape. We know that deaf children in Northern Ireland are more likely to have additional needs: for example, anxiety is more prevalent. We are looking at ways to address the rise of anxiety in other children with no or differing additional needs and to support them, and the same should apply to deaf children and their particular needs as we look at how we can make their educational experience as smooth and appropriately supported as possible. Of course, we already have a range of interventions. We know that EA's sensory service provides support to deaf children and their families from the point at which a child is recognised as being deaf, whatever their level of deafness. When that support kicks in, it can be subject to a family's feeling ready to receive it. I understand that it often begins in the home during preschool years, but it clearly continues in the classroom to assist children's development with support from qualified teachers of deaf children and young people and from educational audiologists. From the NDCS briefing provided to Members in advance of the debate, I note that it is working on its own report on the sensory service. I am sure that the Education Committee in particular will take the opportunity to look at that when it is published. As I said at the outset, I do not stand here as an expert. I certainly look forward to taking the opportunity to engage with those who work in this space and, most importantly, with the families and individuals with lived experience to further understand their challenges and the opportunities to improve services and to work with them to reduce and remove any barriers that they face. I know that the same will be true of colleagues across the House, including the Education Minister, who is doing all that he can to support and improve services for those with special educational needs (SEN) across the education system with the limited resources that the Executive have allocated to him to meet ever-growing needs.

787 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:25 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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