§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish in the Official Report the number of hearing-impaired children who have obtained CSE, 0 and A levels and in which subjects in each of the last 10 years; and if he will name the schools they attend.
§ Miss Margaret JacksonThis information is not collected by my Department. A survey carried out in 1973 indicated that 26 schools for the deaf and partially hearing entered candidates for the CSE examination, six entered candidates for O level and one entered candidates for A level. Deaf and partially hearing pupils or students in ordinary schools or in42W further education may also have entered for these examinations.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what study he has made of the reading age of hearing-impaired children when they leave school; and what estimates he made of these reading ages.
§ Miss Margaret JacksonAlthough I have no facts related to the whole range of hearing-impaired children, the position with profoundly deaf children, as revealed by recent research findings in this country, is that only 40 per cent. achieve a reading age of 8 by the time they leave school. This is a very serious situation, and I hope that a current research project sponsored by the Schools Council at Sussex University to investigate the language development of deaf children, including the development of reading skills, will yield results which contribute significanty towards an improvement in it.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how often hearing-impaired children are given tests of intelligence, verbal language and reasoning.
§ Miss Margaret JacksonThis information is not available. The frequency of testing will depend on the needs of the individual child and is a matter for local education authorities and schools to decide, but the Department's Circular 2/75 advised of the need for regular and systematic review to be made of the progress of such children.