A new charity report reveals that 75 per cent of children who are deafblind – as many as 3,000 children – are missing out by not receiving the right support because authorities are failing to identify them.
Supporting Success, from the deafblind charity Sense was launched at an event with the children and families minister Sarah Teather and Sense’s patron The Princess Royal.
Sense is calling on the government to introduce a legal requirement shared by education, health and social care to identify and support deafblind children and their parents.
The charity’s report recommends that as part of its education reforms the government includes deafblind children in the pathfinder pilot projects so the education reforms are tested to meet the needs of these unique children.
Sense also wants to raise understanding of deafblindness among professionals in health, social care and education with specialist training. It says currently teacher training courses only include one day of SEN training to cover all disabilities.
At the event the minister heard from a number of parents of deafblind children who told her their struggles with the system to get their children vital support.
Sarah Teather said: “It is vital that the reforms we are making to the SEN and disability system are informed by the experiences of the children, young people parents and professionals who are most affected by them. This roundtable event provides an excellent opportunity for me to hear directly from them about challenges and progress.”
The patron of Sense, The Princess Royal at an event for disabled children organised by the deafblind charity
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