NDCS: Deaf Children Failing To Make Top Grades

Parents or carers of deaf children, such as those with au pair jobs in the UK, will be disheartened to hear that youngsters who are hard of hearing are falling behind their classmates.

According to findings from the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS), deaf children cannot keep up with their peers from primary school age through to when they take their GCSEs.

Its results showed only 30.6 per cent of those with hearing problems achieve a GCSE strong pass of Grade 5 or above in English and maths, the BBC reported. This is in comparison with 48.3 per cent of youngsters who have no special educational needs (SEN).

At primary school level, 57 per cent fall short of the expected levels in reading, writing and maths when taking Year Six Sats tests, while only 26 per cent of children with no SEN fail to achieve these results.

Chief executive of NDCS Susan Daniels said it is up to the government to provide more support for families of deaf children, giving local councils the funding they need to pay for specialist teachers.

“It promised every child in this country a world class education, but until deaf and hearing children progress and achieve at the same level, it is failing to deliver and that is utterly unacceptable,” said Ms Daniels.

Last year, NDCS reported that being deaf is a factor in holding youngsters back from attending Russell Group universities.

Only nine per cent of deaf young people get into these top educational establishments, while 17 per cent of those with no disability are given a place, data from a Freedom of Information request revealed.