Miss-Delectable
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http://www.muswellhilljournal24.co....y=newsmhj&itemid=WeED19 Apr 2006 15:11:15:060
PARENTS and supporters of a Muswell Hill school for deaf children are battling to save it from closing.
Council bosses have told governors from specialist Blanche Nevile School that it could be closed down so its students can be included in mainstream education.
In a letter from the council, standards at the school - which provides for pupils from the age of three upwards and was praised by Princess Anne in a recent visit - were criticised.
Judy Downey, Blanche Nevile chairwoman of governors, feels the council is pushing deaf children towards "inclusion" in mainstream schools - ignoring the reality of what that will actually mean.
She said: "It is terribly hard for the identity of deaf kids to be in a class of 25. If it ain't broke don't fix it. Why doesn't Haringey realise what a brilliant asset it has got rather than just looking at inclusion? It's not just about education. It's about esteem and education."
Mrs Downey described the plan as "Destruction in the name of inclusion." She added: "They are breaking something that's got, and is getting much better, that gives deaf kids a base where they are comfortable and have their identity.
"We are not shutting our eyes to the fact that they have got to get used to the outside world.
"At the moment we are working towards the best of both worlds - not thinking there is a snappy solution called inclusion."
Blanche Nevile School, in Burlington Road, is based within Fortismere School and pupils already take some of their lessons there.
But core subjects, such as Maths and English, are taken separately with specialist teachers.
Stephen Bentley, of Tower Hamlets, whose 16-year-old daughter goes to Blanche Nevile, said: "They (deaf pupils) need to have people round them with a similar identity. Having a school like that within a high achieving school they have the chance to be with peers and be in the normal world.
"I think they have positively run it down in order to make the case for closing it. That's the impression one gets. They have never allowed them to appoint a permanent head."
Lynne Featherstone, MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, said: "Blanche Nevile is the best of both worlds and that's why it got that praise from the DFES.
"I think it's a crying shame that they seem, from what I can gather, to be going in the direction of getting rid of Blanche Nevile."
A spokeswoman for Haringey Council said: "Council officers have been working for well over a year with the staff and governors of Blanche Nevile School, Fortismere and Highgate Primary to discuss the best way of providing for the education of children and young people with hearing impairments. Our agreed aim is to build upon the best practice that exists now.
"We are now close to making a proposal for the future which will be subject to consultation.
PARENTS and supporters of a Muswell Hill school for deaf children are battling to save it from closing.
Council bosses have told governors from specialist Blanche Nevile School that it could be closed down so its students can be included in mainstream education.
In a letter from the council, standards at the school - which provides for pupils from the age of three upwards and was praised by Princess Anne in a recent visit - were criticised.
Judy Downey, Blanche Nevile chairwoman of governors, feels the council is pushing deaf children towards "inclusion" in mainstream schools - ignoring the reality of what that will actually mean.
She said: "It is terribly hard for the identity of deaf kids to be in a class of 25. If it ain't broke don't fix it. Why doesn't Haringey realise what a brilliant asset it has got rather than just looking at inclusion? It's not just about education. It's about esteem and education."
Mrs Downey described the plan as "Destruction in the name of inclusion." She added: "They are breaking something that's got, and is getting much better, that gives deaf kids a base where they are comfortable and have their identity.
"We are not shutting our eyes to the fact that they have got to get used to the outside world.
"At the moment we are working towards the best of both worlds - not thinking there is a snappy solution called inclusion."
Blanche Nevile School, in Burlington Road, is based within Fortismere School and pupils already take some of their lessons there.
But core subjects, such as Maths and English, are taken separately with specialist teachers.
Stephen Bentley, of Tower Hamlets, whose 16-year-old daughter goes to Blanche Nevile, said: "They (deaf pupils) need to have people round them with a similar identity. Having a school like that within a high achieving school they have the chance to be with peers and be in the normal world.
"I think they have positively run it down in order to make the case for closing it. That's the impression one gets. They have never allowed them to appoint a permanent head."
Lynne Featherstone, MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, said: "Blanche Nevile is the best of both worlds and that's why it got that praise from the DFES.
"I think it's a crying shame that they seem, from what I can gather, to be going in the direction of getting rid of Blanche Nevile."
A spokeswoman for Haringey Council said: "Council officers have been working for well over a year with the staff and governors of Blanche Nevile School, Fortismere and Highgate Primary to discuss the best way of providing for the education of children and young people with hearing impairments. Our agreed aim is to build upon the best practice that exists now.
"We are now close to making a proposal for the future which will be subject to consultation.