A mother from Blackley, Manchester, has voiced serious concerns that her 10-year-old son, who is profoundly deaf and visually impaired, is being left isolated and is not receiving adequate education due to a shortage of staff proficient in British Sign Language (BSL). Caroline believes her son, Thomas, who has a multi-sensory impairment (MSI), is missing out on crucial learning opportunities despite attending a special school.
Caroline highlighted that for much of Thomas's school day, there are no BSL signers available to teach him effectively. While acknowledging the dedication of the teachers at his special school, she fears they are unable to meet his specific needs. Thomas, who was born with CHARGE syndrome, has a designated MSI teacher who monitors him termly across several schools, and a specialist teaching assistant provides one-to-one BSL support for only an hour each week. Caroline expressed her worry that while Thomas is happy and enjoys playtime, he is 'not really learning anything meaningful'.
The broader issue of support for deafblind children in the North West has been brought into focus by a Freedom of Information request from the charity Sense. The findings revealed that a significant 65% of local authorities in the region do not employ a single specialist teacher dedicated to supporting deafblind children. According to Department for Education statistics, there are 832 deafblind children across 25 local authorities in the North West, with deafblindness defined as a loss of sight and hearing that impacts communication, mobility, and access to information.
Caroline's frustration extends to the existing system for assessing support needs. Despite Thomas qualifying for the maximum level of sensory service and MSI support within his local authority, she contends that this 'maximum level of support is almost nothing' in practice. She advocates for full-time one-to-one support from a qualified BSL user with deafblind awareness training to accelerate Thomas's communication development, as his parents have had to teach him BSL at home themselves.
James Watson-O'Neill, chief executive of Sense, echoed these concerns, describing a 'critical shortage' of specialist staff in the education and health sectors. He warned that without proper access to MSI teachers or with limited support, deafblind children risk being 'denied their basic right to learn' and are 'falling through the cracks'. In response to these challenges, the government recently announced plans to increase the number of specialist interpreters more than eightfold, aiming to support 12,000 deafblind people nationally with their communication needs, backed by £15,000 in grant funding for assessor training.
A statement from Manchester City Council, issued on behalf of Thomas's school, affirmed its commitment to ensuring the 'best offer and outcomes for all of our children' through close collaboration within existing budgets and with various partners.