Only day nursery with facilities for Deaf children in Tower Hamlets is now safe, says local Mayor

In recent weeks, we published several articles about Overland Children’s Centre in Tower Hamlets, which had been threatened with closure.

Husna Begum, the chair of the Tower Hamlets Deaf Children’s Society, wrote that:

There are four nurseries in threat of closure/ privatization by Tower Hamlets Local Authority, one of them being Overland’s Children’s Centre. This is the only day nursery in Tower Hamlets that offers a resource base for the deaf/partially hearing children in the borough.

Soon after that article, the National Deaf Children’s Society warned that closing the centre would break the law.

Now, we have good news. The Office of the Mayor of Tower Hamlets has announced that the Community Nurseries,  including Overland Children’s Centre which provides support for deaf children, will remain open.

Brian Gale, the NDCS’s Director of Policy and Campaigns said:

“This is great news for deaf children and their families in Tower Hamlets who depend on Overland Children’s Centre. Keeping the nursery open will mean young deaf children and their families continue to receive the specialist support they need to do well and thrive when they start school.

We know that half of deaf children in England currently leave primary school without meeting the Government’s expected targets in reading, writing and maths so specialist support is vital.

“We would like to thank the Mayor of Tower Hamlets for listening and responding positively to the concerns of the parents, and the Tower Hamlets Deaf Children’s Society.

We would also like to thank the parents who campaigned to keep the nursery open not only for their own children, but for the future generations of deaf children in Tower Hamlets.”