The BBC have reported:
The country’s oldest specialist school for deaf children could close at the end of the year after the trust which runs it went into administration.
More than 100 job losses have already been announced at The Royal School for Deaf Children in Margate, Kent, which was established in 1792.
A further 380 jobs could go if substantial funding cannot be found.
About 110 young people attend the schools operated by the John Townsend Trust, administrators said.
The threat of closure also affects Westgate College which was established in 1978 as the post-16 department of The Royal School.
Update:
Following the news of the closure of The Royal School for Deaf Children in Margate, Kent, the British Deaf Association has said:
Dr. Terry Riley, OBE, Chair of the British Deaf Association and ex-governor of the school, said: “The BDA is saddened to hear the news of the closure of The Royal School for Deaf Children, which is the oldest Deaf school in the UK. We are now in contact with the John Townsend Trust, which operates the school, to discuss how we can work together with them to ensure that this vital heritage is not lost forever.”
Read the full article here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-35029642
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pennybsl
December 9, 2015
The school moved to the fresh sea air of Margate from its smog-filled location in London.
Several hearing and Deaf parents who have children with multiple disabilities / needs have positively commented on the specialised provision a life-saver for all concerned.
This provision, the latest victim in the Government’s so-called decentralising agenda of LEA funding, deserves to be re-housed in a purpose-built site for SE England and London….with 50/50 Deaf and hearing staff.
Local Authorities and mainstream education, already buckling under LA cuts and deteriorating respect for good SEN / Deaf Education provision, definitely are in NO state to include those pupils / students.
There is constant muddling around the 2014 Children’s Act and EHC Plan processes, it is bad timing.
The outcome of the closure of this specialist provision would be devastating in terms of escalating risks, impact upon family/community and typical LAs’ lack of proper expertise/consultation with the right professionals in working with those young people.
The skills of the school’s staff would be lost in mainstream education, fragmented and ‘demoted’. LAs need to pro-act in establishing regional centres of excellent utilising such skills under one roof.
For once, as we are seeing in Facebook and social media, we citizens must rally against the Government’s insistence of constantly bombing Syria at the same time its policies and ignoring essential impact assessment processes have domino-ed into ‘bombing’ Deaf Education in the UK.
Hartmut
December 11, 2015
When I was in UK in 1963, the school was named to be one of two schools that allows sign language, while others were oral. Am I correct?