PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

Deaf and Blind Children at risk in Sydney Catholic

Schools due to funding cuts.
17 November 2014
Parents of children who are deaf, blind, hearing or vision impaired in the
Sydney Catholic School System, have expressed fear for the future of
their childrens education, if proposed cuts to specialist support services
for their children are to be implemented.
One hundred and thirty parents recently received notification from the
Catholic Education Office (CEO), Sydney, that the specialised support
currently given to deaf and blind students, will no longer be provided.
Instead, a small number of consultants will provide training for
classroom teachers and teachers aides, to replace this expert service.
The Catholic Education Office, Sydney will be appointing nine specialist
teachers from the current Sensory Impairment Program to support
students, their families and school staff.
Parents of Deaf Children (PODC) President, Leonie Jackson, says that this
is not enough. This is of grave concern to parents and those in the deaf
education sector. Parents of deaf and blind children place their child in
the school of their choice, feeling reassured that there is a specialist
visiting teacher for sensory impairment, with specific knowledge to
support a deaf or blind child in the classroom. The proposed new CEO
model of support will not be sufficient for most of these children to
access the curriculum - as is their right under the Disability Standards for
Education, 2005.
This proposed change will make it extremely difficult for Catholic
families with children with hearing or vision loss able to continue within
the Catholic Education system.
Parents feel strongly about the negative effects this proposed change
may bring upon their childs education.
Maura Penn, mother to eleven year old Liam, is very worried about what
these changes mean. Liam has a profound hearing loss and is currently

progressing well with the ongoing support of his visiting teacher of the
deaf in a Sydney Catholic systemic school.
I am very disappointed and saddened to hear that the Catholic school
system is ceasing the individual support of hearing and vision impaired
students. Not only did I choose the Catholic system for religious beliefs,
but also because I believed it offered the best support for my son.
Elise Drew is equally concerned:
My son, who is legally blind, is starting high school next year, so this
change could not have come at a worse time. I am so worried about his
future, especially with his transition into a new school without individual
support.
The President of the National Association of Australian Teachers of the
Deaf, Trudy Smith shares the concerns of parents: The expertise,
specialist skills and knowledge provided by a qualified teacher-of-thedeaf, cannot be replaced by providing classroom teachers with
professional development opportunities. Each time a new curriculum
program is developed, or a student in their classroom acquires a new
piece of audiological technology, or they gain a new student with
hearing loss, then a series of individualised needs and requirements
arise. Only a hands-on teacher with a specialist qualification is able to
support this diversity appropriately."
Research into how a deaf child learns, supports the expert role played by
the teacher-of-the-deaf. Having a specialist teacher-of-the-deaf, with
in-depth knowledge of the needs of each deaf child, provides the
expertise required to set up appropriate strategies of support for a deaf
childs learning and access to the curriculum.

For more information:

Kate Kennedy, Coordinator, Parents of Deaf Children.
Tel: 9871 3049 or 0419628829
Email: kate@podc.org.au
Web: www.podc.org.au