Deaf Education in mainstream school.?

Question

I have a 7 yr old profoundly Deaf daughter in yr 2 in mainstrem school. She has a Communication support worker with her all the time as she needs signing to throughout the day. Her support worker has amazing signing skills but has no experience with teaching assistant role and never goes on the courses that the school signs her up to. Recently she has been off ill and the support organisation for my daughter meant that as her mother i had to go in and sign to her or there would have been no-one to communicate with her. Now, her school rings me up wanting me to supply all the time and before and after school i end up for about 1/2 hour talking to her support worker about what they are doing for the day and what they have done even though i think they shouldn't be doing this as every other parent in the school doesn't get it and all my daughter wants to do is go home after school. The SENCO is a NQT as well and is big friends with her support worker which means she does nothing. Help!

Answer 1

Assuming you are in the Uk.  You should not be covering for her support worker, that is not your job.  You need to make an appointment with the headteacher and raise your concerns with them, the NDCS do an excellent forum called Parent Place where other parents can advise you on their experiences too.

Answer 2

First, and this is not meant to offend, you have to understand that not all parents have to do this because not all students are deaf.Your daughter requires more time and energy than other daughters and this is just a fact.  It is a great opportunity to bond with your daughter and understand her school day.

Second, I would talk to the district if it is a serious situation.  Sounds like it to me.  They will be over in a second.  Also, speak to the school's special education director or instructors.  They should have a way of monitoring her progress.

Worst case: get a lawyer.

Answer 3

I assume you are from the UK, NQTs should not have curriculum areas or extra responsibility until the completition of their NQT year, the governement want inclusive education so it is your right to demand the best support for your child.

Firstly, I would complain to the head and the support assistants boss I am assuming that she is employed by an outside agency? If not complain to the borough and they will do something about it I am sure, mention the ofsted word and the every child matters agenda and they soon will do something about it!

Answer 4

You dont state where your from:

You should have a Teacher of the Deaf allocated to you, and it is this person you need to see. All deaf children are allocated a teacher of the Deaf and they keep in touch with you making sure the child has full access to everything in life. Please go and consult this person.

If you need more information email me if you want.

Answer 5

I hope you are familiar with IDEA. IDEA is the law that governs education for special education students.  If your child has a disability and requires services, you are not to have to provide them yourself.  Public schools are required by l;aw to provide ALL services that your child needs.  If your child needs someone to help her communicate then the school/district is required by law to provide it.  If they do not or will not, then you need to call for an IEP meeting (thats part of IDEA) and if everyone agrees she needs the service, then the disttrict, no matter what they might say, HAS TO privide the service.  Funding is not allowed, by law, to be discussed in this meeting. The only concern is the child's ability to learn and communication is key to that.

I know that some people might think that you should do it because you are the parent.  Public education is there to provide ALL education services, not the parents. IDEA requires schools and districts to provide what ever you child needs in school AND in the home, if necessary.

I would like to discuss this with you more.  I know how schools/districts can be. I have a child that is autistic (high functioning, but still autistic) and I know how to get through to school officials who are being obstinate without the lawyers. No one in the school district wants to go to court because they most often lose.

Answer 6

It sounds like you are in England, not the US, so IDEA laws will not apply to you.  There must be some type of special education laws in your country so I would suggest contacting their offices for information.  From what you shared you would have grounds for a lawsuit in the US as it is never the parent's responsibility to provide services for students, however those services need to be agreed upon by a committee and written into the student's IEP.

Good luck!