Number of specialist teachers for deaf kids falls 'dramatically' in Scotland
There has been a reduction in fully qualified Teachers of the Deaf in the last decade
Last updated 17th Feb 2023
There are "dramatically" fewer specialist teachers for deaf pupils in Scotland, compared to a decade ago.
Fully qualified Teachers of the Deaf provide support to children with hearing impairments while in mainstream classrooms.
The annual CRIDE (Consortium for Research into Deaf Education) survey for 2022 revealed that there are at least 3,313 deaf children in Scotland.
There are 161 full-time equivalent staff working as Teachers of the Deaf, but only 62% held the mandatory qualification, whilst 34% were in training, and 5% were qualified teachers without the mandatory qualification and no immediate plans to begin training for this.
A CRIDE survey was not carried out in Scotland in 2012, but the previous year, there were 230 Teachers of the Deaf in Scotland.
Concerns for the future
The National Society for Deaf Children (NSDC) explains they are concerned for the future, with almost half of the current workforce set to retire within the next 10 years.
The charity has issued an urgent plea to both local authorities and the Scottish Government.
Campaigns and policy officer, Lois Drake said: "Over the last 10 years in Scotland, there's been a dramatic fall in the number of Teachers of the Deaf.
"The work that specialist Teachers of the Deaf do is vitally important.
"Not only do they work one-to-one with deaf children, but they do so in a way that lets them fully access mainstream education.
"They help with education needs and skills, and make sure that the curriculum is fully understandable in whatever way that child communicates.
"They also support the families of deaf children from birth, right the way through until they finish school.
"Teachers are also helped to adapt the curriculum so it is accessible, and to understand deaf-awareness, like not turning their back to the classroom when teaching so that the child can still lipread.
More support
Lois explains that although work is underway to employ more general additional support needs teachers, that deaf children require specialist support that can only be achieved with a Teacher of the Deaf.
She said: "We are really concerned about the dip in specialised teachers.
"We're asking local authorities to commit to try and return the number of fully qualified Teachers of the Deaf to 2011 levels, and we'd like to see them do that within the next 10 years.
"We're also asking the Scottish Government to provide fully funded places for Teachers of the Deaf to study so that we can see more graduates coming through the system.
"Around 45% of Teachers of the Deaf are due to retire in the next decade, so if we don't take action now, things are only going to get worse."
£500,000 to charities
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “All teachers provide support to children and young people with additional support needs.
“The Additional Support for Learning Act places education authorities under duties to identify, provide for and review the additional support needs of their pupils, including those affected by deafness.
"Education authorities also have duties to ensure that teachers who support children and young people with sensory impairments, including Deafness, are appropriately qualified.
“We are working to remove barriers for British Sign Language (BSL) users to becoming teachers, along with the General Teaching Council (GTCS).
"The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) also now offers qualifications in BSL from level 3 to level 8.
“The Scottish Government provides over £500,000 to voluntary sector organisations to support children and young people with additional support needs including sensory impairment.
"This includes funding to the Scottish Sensory Centre to support training to increase the capacity of staff in schools to provide effective support to deaf children and young people.”