Gap in academic achievement widening between deaf and hearing students, committee told

'We suspect that there is a significant gap between how deaf and hard-of-hearing children are doing in our schools both in terms of their own academic potential and in respect of their hearing peers of similar ability,' said Brendan Lennon of national charity Chime. Picture: iStock

There is a significant and widening gap between deaf students and their hearing peers, national charities for deafness have warned.

Many deaf students feel isolated from their hearing classmates in mainstream schools and even in their own families at times, the Oireachtas education committee was also told on Tuesday.

“We suspect that there is a significant gap between how deaf and hard-of-hearing children are doing in our schools both in terms of their own academic potential and in respect of their hearing peers of similar ability,” said Brendan Lennon of national charity Chime.

“We also have reason to believe that the gap is growing instead of narrowing.” 

In Britain, the gap between the attainment of deaf students and their hearing peers is roughly one grade per subject. 

It may be even greater in Ireland, as children in Britain receive greater support, Mr Lennon said. The capacity of the visiting teacher service, widely recognised as a vital support, is currently at 60% here of the service in England.

Teachers of the deaf in Britain are also much more likely to have a postgraduate qualification in deaf education than their counterparts in Ireland, he added.

“Since the introduction of the new Special Education Teacher (SET) allocation model in 2017, many parents have been telling us that their deaf and hard-of-hearing children are receiving less support than before.”

Shane Hamilton, a student at the Holy Family School for the Deaf in Cabra, told the committee a lot of his deaf friends who attend hearing schools feel “a lot more alone”.

They feel isolated. No one understands the language they’re speaking, and they have to learn a whole new language just to understand other people. They feel very, very isolated. 

"Some of my deaf friends have siblings who are hearing and even in their own family, they can feel isolated because their siblings are living whole different lives.”

Meanwhile, the principal of the Holy Family School Eimear O'Rourke told the committee the school is currently located on two different campuses three kilometres apart. 

"Our new school building project is with the NTMA. Please prioritise this project so that all our pupils can be on one campus and annual grants can be invested in education provision, rather than supporting school buildings."