Miss-Delectable
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EDP24 - Review of facilities for Norfolk deaf children
A Norfolk mother called for an overhaul of the county's school facilities for deaf children last night after experts ruled her daughter was unlawfully discriminated against at a sports day.
Laura Trudgill, who is now 13, was left “distressed and humiliated” as the absence of an individual signer meant she could not follow most of the events going on throughout the day at the then Colman Middle School in Norwich.
The youngster, who is profoundly deaf, was:
# embarrassed because she continued with a sports activity when she did not hear a teacher on a tannoy telling the children to stop
# left standing while all her schoolmates sat down - again because she could not hear the tannoy
# called back to do events again because she did not understand the instructions.
Laura said: “I felt unhappy at sports day. I didn't have an interpreter and understood nothing. I wanted to be with deaf friends.”
A special education needs and disability tribunal (Sendist), held almost a year after the July 2007 sports day, found that the school had unlawfully discriminated against Laura.
But the panel refused to impose any punishment, saying staff had “taken matters seriously” and were trying to help Laura gain more independence.
They said they were “confident that there would be a new approach” at future sports days as a result of the “lessons learned”.
Colman Middle, which is now Colman Junior, is one of three Norfolk schools - along with Colman Infant and City of Norwich School - with specialist units for deaf children.
Karen Park, Laura's mum, said: “At the sports day there were 24 events and only a few had signers. It was horrible to watch because information was given out on the tannoy, which she couldn't hear.
“All the school would say to me was 'Laura needs to be independent'. But she can only be independent if she understands what is going on.”
Miss Park, who lives in East Harling with Laura's dad, Gary Trudgill, added: “There isn't enough specialist provision in Norfolk. There ought to be a school for the deaf.”
The tribunal heard there were “numerous examples of situations which caused Laura unnecessary distress, anxiety and humiliation”.
In its findings, it said: “We are satisfied that the school took matters seriously and that they had planned for the day. Objectives for the event were clear and the planning had taken into account what had happened on the previous sports day.
“However, ironically, it was this planning that led to the discrimination. By emphasising independence it meant that the very actions that were thought to be good were, in fact, discriminating against Laura.”
The members praised the school for “excellent” adjustments, including a signed briefing before the event.
They said: “We found the school's evidence to be credible and we acknowledge that staff were trying to do what they felt was best. But we are satisfied that being unable to hear everything that was being said over the tannoy and to access the activity instructions did place Laura at a substantial disadvantage.”
Carolyn Sayer, headteacher, said: “Decisions about the level of support to provide to children are always very finely balanced as we want to ensure that children can be included as fully as possible, while also giving them the opportunity for independence and integration with the school's other pupils.
“Our plans for the day had good intentions but we accept the findings of the tribunal that further adjustments could have been made. We will ensure that these are taken into consideration at the next sports day.
“We continually review our practice to ensure we are doing the best for our pupils and welcome the suggestions from the panel about how we can improve the event further. Laura has now left the school and we wish her every success in her future education.”
Karen Taylor, the council's coordinator for sensory support, said the ongoing review of special educational needs provision in Norfolk included the possibility of “creating another resource base in the county to support deaf children”.
She added: “Supporting those with disabilities is a priority for us as we want to ensure they can access a good education and benefit from the specialist support they need in an inclusive and caring environment.”
A Norfolk mother called for an overhaul of the county's school facilities for deaf children last night after experts ruled her daughter was unlawfully discriminated against at a sports day.
Laura Trudgill, who is now 13, was left “distressed and humiliated” as the absence of an individual signer meant she could not follow most of the events going on throughout the day at the then Colman Middle School in Norwich.
The youngster, who is profoundly deaf, was:
# embarrassed because she continued with a sports activity when she did not hear a teacher on a tannoy telling the children to stop
# left standing while all her schoolmates sat down - again because she could not hear the tannoy
# called back to do events again because she did not understand the instructions.
Laura said: “I felt unhappy at sports day. I didn't have an interpreter and understood nothing. I wanted to be with deaf friends.”
A special education needs and disability tribunal (Sendist), held almost a year after the July 2007 sports day, found that the school had unlawfully discriminated against Laura.
But the panel refused to impose any punishment, saying staff had “taken matters seriously” and were trying to help Laura gain more independence.
They said they were “confident that there would be a new approach” at future sports days as a result of the “lessons learned”.
Colman Middle, which is now Colman Junior, is one of three Norfolk schools - along with Colman Infant and City of Norwich School - with specialist units for deaf children.
Karen Park, Laura's mum, said: “At the sports day there were 24 events and only a few had signers. It was horrible to watch because information was given out on the tannoy, which she couldn't hear.
“All the school would say to me was 'Laura needs to be independent'. But she can only be independent if she understands what is going on.”
Miss Park, who lives in East Harling with Laura's dad, Gary Trudgill, added: “There isn't enough specialist provision in Norfolk. There ought to be a school for the deaf.”
The tribunal heard there were “numerous examples of situations which caused Laura unnecessary distress, anxiety and humiliation”.
In its findings, it said: “We are satisfied that the school took matters seriously and that they had planned for the day. Objectives for the event were clear and the planning had taken into account what had happened on the previous sports day.
“However, ironically, it was this planning that led to the discrimination. By emphasising independence it meant that the very actions that were thought to be good were, in fact, discriminating against Laura.”
The members praised the school for “excellent” adjustments, including a signed briefing before the event.
They said: “We found the school's evidence to be credible and we acknowledge that staff were trying to do what they felt was best. But we are satisfied that being unable to hear everything that was being said over the tannoy and to access the activity instructions did place Laura at a substantial disadvantage.”
Carolyn Sayer, headteacher, said: “Decisions about the level of support to provide to children are always very finely balanced as we want to ensure that children can be included as fully as possible, while also giving them the opportunity for independence and integration with the school's other pupils.
“Our plans for the day had good intentions but we accept the findings of the tribunal that further adjustments could have been made. We will ensure that these are taken into consideration at the next sports day.
“We continually review our practice to ensure we are doing the best for our pupils and welcome the suggestions from the panel about how we can improve the event further. Laura has now left the school and we wish her every success in her future education.”
Karen Taylor, the council's coordinator for sensory support, said the ongoing review of special educational needs provision in Norfolk included the possibility of “creating another resource base in the county to support deaf children”.
She added: “Supporting those with disabilities is a priority for us as we want to ensure they can access a good education and benefit from the specialist support they need in an inclusive and caring environment.”