Swansea East Assembly Member Mike Hedges has met with two deaf young people this week to learn about acoustics, as part of a campaign by the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) Cymru to make schools accessible to children with a hearing loss.
Deaf young people, Kurtis Olding and Daniyaal Munir, both aged 15, described to Mike how noisy, echoing classrooms make it difficult for deaf children to learn. At the event held in the Senedd, the Swansea East Assembly Member listened to audio classroom simulations, to hear how a classroom with poor acoustics can sound to a child with hearing loss.
Mike is supporting the ‘Let’s Make a New Year’s Resolution that Sounds Good’ campaign, launched by NDCS Cymru last month, which calls on Assembly Members to sign-up to a special New Year’s Resolution in support of good acoustics in new school, college and nursery buildings.
Mike Hedges AM, said:
“This is an issue that I have been campaigning for since entering the Assembly last year.
“It was a great privilege to be able to meet deaf young people today to learn more about how poor acoustics can affect them at school. Barriers such as this must be broken down if we want to give deaf children the best chance of achieving their full academic potential.
“The Welsh Government have made some progress towards implementing good school acoustics in the form of its 21st Century Schools Programme, however this only applies to school buildings directly funded under the programme. What I want to make sure is that all new build schools, nurseries and college buildings in Wales meet at least a minimum acoustical standard.
“I fully support the campaign to improve acoustics in schools across Wales and I am calling on my fellow Assembly Members to follow suit so that we succeed in putting the issue firmly on the political agenda.”
Jayne Dulson, NDCS Cymru Director, said:
“We are delighted that Mike is supporting our campaign and that he met with Kurtis and Daniyaal to better understand the challenges that deaf children face in classrooms with poor acoustics.
“Good acoustics in schools are important for all children, but particularly so for deaf children. Although many deaf children use devices such as hearing aids and cochlear implants to access sound, these become almost useless in noisy classrooms. We now need the Welsh Government take action on this important issue.”
