Education Minister Leighton Andrews has committed £17,591 to the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) Cymru to fund three regional events aimed at delivering deaf awareness training to education professionals across Wales.
The events
The events to be held in Cardiff, Carmarthenshire and Wrexham will help raise awareness of the specific needs of deaf children and young people amongst teaching staff and others in the education profession. They will give professionals a basic understanding of the causes and effects of childhood deafness.
Announcing the funding, the Education Minister said:
“It is important that the specific needs of deaf children and young people in the education system are clearly understood and better met in the future. This funding for the NDCS will help achieve this aim.
“The deaf awareness events will support the Assembly Government’s wider agenda of supporting children and young people with additional learning needs. The events will also address some of the issues raised by the Assembly’s Cross Party Group on Deaf Issues, particularly in promoting the equality of opportunity for deaf people in Wales.”
Jayne Dulson, Director of NDCS Cymru, said:
“Last year, NDCS Cymru published figures which revealed a significant gap in educational attainment between deaf pupils and their peers. Deafness is not a learning disability, but there are many barriers – including a lack of deaf awareness – which are preventing many deaf children and young people from achieving their full potential.
“We are delighted that the Welsh Assembly Government has chosen to fund these events and hope that this will be the start of an ongoing commitment to address the barriers that young deaf people in Wales face and to close the gap in educational attainment between deaf pupils and their peers.”
NDCS
For more information regarding the NDCS, visit the NDCS website at http://www.ndcs.org.uk/.
