§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what information she has as to the provision which is made for profoundly or totally deaf children in ordinary schools;
(2) if she will conduct an inquiry to establish what provision is made for the 93W special problems of deaf children attending ordinary State schools; and if she will explain what guidance she gives.
§ Mr. St. John-StevasA small number of deaf children attend ordinary schools while awaiting places in special schools. A minority of these are in units for the partially hearing, and for the remainder help is usually available—for the child and his teacher—from a peripatetic teacher of the deaf. This situation is temporary for any deaf child and an inquiry appears unnecessary. Guidance is given by Her Majesty's Inspectors; and two education surveys have been issued on peripatetic teachers of the deaf and units for partially hearing children.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many children are waiting for admission to special schools for the deaf.
§ Mr. St. John-StevasI have nothing to add to my reply on 3rd April.—[Vol. 854, c. 60.]
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Schools for: LEA (1) Deaf (2) Deaf and Partially hearing (3) Total Number on roll January 1972 (4) COUNTIES Hampshire … … … … 1 — 73 Staffordshire … … … … — 1 113 Surrey … … … … 2 — 134 Yorkshire, West Riding … … … … — 1 30 COUNTY BOROUGH Birmingham … … … … — 2 251 Bolton … … … … — 1 119 Bradford … … … … — 1 146 Bristol … … … … 1 — 60 Great Yarmouth* … … … … 1 — 80 Kingston upon Hull … … … … — 1 69 Leeds … … … … — 1 131 Leicester … … … … — 1 61 Liverpool … … … … — 1 175 Manchester … … … … 1 — 88 Nottingham … … … … — 1 99 Plymouth … … … … — 1 76 Sheffield … … … … — 1 96 Teesside … … … … — 1 92 GREATER LONDON ILEA … … … … 5 — 322 Haringey … … … … 1 — 155 Hounslow … … … … 1 — 167 Newham … … … … — 1 61 Waltham Forest … … … … — 1 94 13 16 2,692 *The Great Yarmouth school takes both deaf and partially sighted children.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science: (1) how many places there are for deaf children in special schools for the deaf;
(2) if she will list the number of special schools for the deaf provided by each local authority, the number of places available, and the number of children awaiting admission.
§ Mr. St. John-StevasNumbers on roll are the best guide to the number of places available since, with few exceptions, schools are full. In January 1972 there were 4,471 children attending 41 special schools in England which catered either for the deaf or for the deaf and partially hearing. Details of such schools maintained by English local education authorities are shown in the table set out below.
In January 1972 there were 126 deaf children awaiting places in special schools, 73 of whom were under 5 years of age.
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§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many special schools cater solely for deaf children.
§ Mr. St. John-StevasNineteen in England.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will conduct an inquiry to establish what provision is made by each local authority for the teaching of lip reading for each deaf child.
§ Mr. St. John-StevasLip reading is taught as an integral part of the special education provided in all special schools for the deaf. Children awaiting places in these schools may receive instruction in lip reading from peripatetic teachers of the deaf.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will conduct an inquiry to establish what is the average reading age of a deaf person leaving school at the age of 18 years.
§ Mr. St. John-StevasNo. The 1971–72 returns included only five deaf pupils of this age in special schools, and averaging could not lead to valid conclusions. It would be for the schools concerned to compare reading standards over a period.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she is satisfied that the area in which a deaf child must for practical reasons depend to its educational opportunity.
§ Mr. St. John-StevasThe nature of the arrangements that can be made for a deaf child must for practical reasons depend on various factors, including the place he lives in. I am satisfied, however, that local education authorities do all they can to ensure equality of educational opportunity for handicapped children and boarding places may help to make this possible.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps are being taken by Her Majesty's Government to improve medical research into the problems of deaf children.
§ Mrs. ThatcherThe Medical Research Council has recently endorsed the conclusions of a sub-committee set up to96W advise on the future policy for the development of research in deafness. It particularly wishes to encourage further development in clinical and epidemiological studies, fundamental studies relevant to the development of new types of instrumentation to aid hearing, and studies related to education, rehabilitation and social adaptation of the deaf, which are likely to be of benefit to both children and adults. Action is now being directed towards initiating and promoting research in these areas.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many schools for the deaf prohibit or discourage the use of sign language in the teaching of deaf children.
§ Mr. St. John-StevasA survey carried out by Her Majesty's Inspectorate in 1970 showed that some form of manual communication was used in at least three quarters of the maintained and non-maintained special schools in England providing for deaf children.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proportion of profoundly deaf children have qualified for a grammar school place in each of the last five years; and how this compares with the proportion of normally hearing children.
§ Mr. St. John-StevasThe numbers of 11-year-old deaf pupils in the Mary Hare Grammar School expressed as percentages of all deaf pupils of this age and comparable figures for normally hearing children in maintained grammar schools are as follows:
Deaf Normally Hearing* % % 1968 3.9 17.2 1969 2.3 16.1 1970 4.9 15.0 1971 5.4 13.9 1972 4.5 12.9 * These figures do not take account of pupils of similar ability in other maintained schools.