Thank you for
getting in touch and raising your concerns about funding for deaf children’s
education services.
I contacted
Cornwall Council to seek clarity on this issue and they advised me that in
September 2017 the Special Education Needs (SEN) support services in Cornwall
were restructured, affording the opportunity to extend the support and delivery
to a wider range of SEN needs. They have explained this restructure was enabled
through a rationalisation of budgets and have assured me that Cornwall Council
remains committed to supporting all children and young people with special
education needs.
They have told
me that whilst there has been a net budget reduction to the Hearing Support
Team budget for the year 2018/19, in real terms there has been no reduction in
services to children and young people with a hearing impairment. They say this
is because the Hearing Support Team budget had been carrying an underspend due
to underspends on travel, services and long standing vacancies. They have said
the overall numbers of teachers of the deaf have reduced very slightly and say
this reduction reflects a falling number of students attending FE colleges
requiring support.
As I understand
it, the reduction in spending is a reflection of the reduction in the demand
for the service. I am led to believe that by reducing this budget it is
intended to utilise the funding which is currently surplus to provide funding
to other areas of SEN needs which are currently overspending due to increased
demands.
I trust this is
helpful and addresses your concerns.
Thanks once
again for raising this with me.
