How do we reverse the fall in the number of Qualified Teachers of Deaf Children and Young People in Scotland?

A Cross-party Group on Deafness working group conducted a study into the declining numbers of QToDs

A short-life working group chaired by Karen Adam MSP investigated what could be done to understand the nature and causes of the decline in Qualified Teachers of Deaf children and young people (QToDs), and what could be done to reverse it.

The findings and recommended key actions have now been published in a report.

The study identified the following themes:

• Although the QToD is a well-established position within Scottish education, there is currently no explicit right for any deaf child or parent to have access to a QToD.
• The role of the QToD is not always clear in law, and some of the duties carried out by QToDs are not aligned with the Additional Support for Learning (ASL) and Getting It Right For Every Child (GIRFEC) frameworks, despite in practice playing a vital role in the delivery of these frameworks.
• QToDs play a pivotal role in the development of language(s), deaf identity and enhancing the wellbeing of deaf children. They provide family-centred early intervention for families from the point of identification, in nurseries, schools and at points of transition. However, these important roles are not always recognised or understood.
• The declining numbers of QToDs (37% fall in numbers since 2011) is in part down to a lack of strategic consideration being given to the recruitment and retention of QToDs and other specialist roles.
• Although QToDs are required to complete postgraduate training and achieve an appropriate level of British Sign Language (BSL), there is no salary increment associated with this level of specialist training, unlike in all other parts of the UK.
• The declining number of QToDs is occurring at a time when deaf attainment is below that of the hearing population, regardless of the degree of deafness, which assistive hearing device the deaf pupil uses (such as cochlear implant or other hearing aids) or language used (spoken and BSL). Deafness was found to have a negative effect on English grades for all categories of deafness, including mild.
• Different types of support from QToDs are provided across Scotland. Deaf children in mainstream schools will receive some form of support from a visiting (also known as ‘peripatetic’) QToD at least on an annual basis, as part of the local authority deaf education service caseload. Examples of support include direct teaching, visits to the family or school, liaison with the family, school, teachers, providing hearing aid checks, etc. Currently there is no guidance on what an appropriate caseload should be for a QToD. Furthermore, the declining number of QToDs means that the support deaf children need to access mainstream schools or in the crucial early years has often either been reduced or removed for many deaf children and young people.
• Research into audiology services in Scotland carried out by the National Deaf Children’s Society indicates that around 44% of children in Scotland with permanent childhood hearing impairment (PCHI) are identified soon after birth, following a referral from the newborn hearing screening programme. This is a significantly lower proportion in Scotland compared with Northern Ireland and England (where the majority of deaf children are identified through the newborn screening process).
  

The report contains six key recommended areas for action to address the falling numbers of QToDs in Scotland.

Read the full report here.

A BSL summary of the report is available below.

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