News

Charities voice fears over provision for blind and deaf students

Inclusion
Deaf and blind pupils in Scottish schools are receiving inadequate education compared with other pupils, with patchy resources and lack of training for teachers, according to charities.

The organisations detailed their concerns in submissions to the Scottish Parliament’s Education Committee, which is investigating the provision of schooling for children and young people with a sensory impairment. 

The inquiry follows recent publication of data showing a clear gap in attainment with their peers. Deaf pupils have an average qualification tariff score of 289 against 439 for those that can hear, and pupils with a visual impairment score an average of 249. Five times as many deaf pupils leave school without any qualifications – 10 per cent – as other school-leavers.

The National Deaf Children’s Society highlighted the lack of information about the number of pupils needing support. “There is currently no complete national data set on numbers of deaf children and young people in Scotland,” it said in its submission.

Register now, read forever

Thank you for visiting SecEd and reading some of our content for professionals in secondary education. Register now for free to get unlimited access to all content.

What's included:

  • Unlimited access to news, best practice articles and podcast

  • New content and e-bulletins delivered straight to your inbox every Monday and Thursday

Register

Already have an account? Sign in here