Deaf girl faces 180-mile round trip to go to school

Miss-Delectable

Miss-Delectable

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Deaf girl faces 180-mile round trip to go to school - mirror.co.uk

DEJECTED Michaela Mowat is having to leave her family to go to a school two-and-a-half hours from home – just because she is partially deaf.

There are no secondary schools near Michaela, 11, with the correct acoustics to enable her to hear the teachers.

So her distraught parents have decided to send her to a boarding school for deaf children which will involve a round trip of 180 miles.

Campaigners blame the Tory-led Government for failing to honour an election pledge to improve acoustics in classrooms. Michaela’s charity worker mum, Robyn, 40, said: “We wanted her to be nearer home but she will have to stay at the school Monday to Friday. She will feel even more isolated.”

Michaela, who has profound to severe hearing loss, will have to travel from her home in Kendal, Cumbria, to the special school in Boston Spa, West Yorks. The school fees will be funded by her local education authority.

Jo Campion, of the National Deaf Children’s Society, said many parents face the same dilemma as the Mowats. She added the Government was showing “an unacceptable lack of commitment to ensuring that schools are accessible to disabled children”.

The Education Department said it was up to local authorities to provide facilities for children with special needs. Cumbria county council said it does not comment on individual cases.
 
Miss-Delectable said:
Deaf girl faces 180-mile round trip to go to school - mirror.co.uk

DEJECTED Michaela Mowat is having to leave her family to go to a school two-and-a-half hours from home – just because she is partially deaf.

There are no secondary schools near Michaela, 11, with the correct acoustics to enable her to hear the teachers.

So her distraught parents have decided to send her to a boarding school for deaf children which will involve a round trip of 180 miles.

Campaigners blame the Tory-led Government for failing to honour an election pledge to improve acoustics in classrooms. Michaela’s charity worker mum, Robyn, 40, said: “We wanted her to be nearer home but she will have to stay at the school Monday to Friday. She will feel even more isolated.”

Michaela, who has profound to severe hearing loss, will have to travel from her home in Kendal, Cumbria, to the special school in Boston Spa, West Yorks. The school fees will be funded by her local education authority.

Jo Campion, of the National Deaf Children’s Society, said many parents face the same dilemma as the Mowats. She added the Government was showing “an unacceptable lack of commitment to ensuring that schools are accessible to disabled children”.

The Education Department said it was up to local authorities to provide facilities for children with special needs. Cumbria county council said it does not comment on individual cases.
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I think it's wonderful that she's getting to go to a deaf school. It is too bad she has to live away from her parents.......BUT at least this way she gets to attend a Deaf School...and she is old enough to live at school. It's not like she's 5 or 6. And at least she doesn't have to fall through the cracks in the mainstream. i can guarnetee that her mum will be raving about how awesome the deaf school is.
I also have to say that the govt has nothing to do with making mainstream schools accessiable to dhh or blind/low vison kids. Most mainstream teachers including sped teachers have NO clue how to manage kids with low incidence issues.
 
That means at least 3 1/2- 4 hours in the car everyday. That's a lot.
 
This girl's gonna attend an deaf oral school. So that's a step up above mainstream school, I suppose.
 
The title is misleading. It makes it seem that the girl will be daily commuting those miles to school. That's not the case. Because it's so far from home, she will be a boarding student at the school instead of a day student.
 
Reba said:
The title is misleading. It makes it seem that the girl will be daily commuting those miles to school. That's not the case. Because it's so far from home, she will be a boarding student at the school instead of a day student.
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Yes. She will be a boarding student...and she is old enough to be a day student. It IS too bad that she can't live at home.....but just ten years ago it was very common for oral kids to hit the fourth grade glass ceiling and go off to live at Clarke/CID/St. Joseph's.
 
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