Children and Families – Page 108 – The NEN

Minister visits new Perinatal Befriending Service

Aberlour Children’s Charity was delighted to welcome the Minister for Mental Wellbeing, Maree Todd MSP to the new Perinatal Befriending Service at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh this week.

The new service, launched six weeks ago, offers vital emotional and befriending support to parents impacted by neonatal experiences. Aberlour’s Perinatal Befriending Service is for families living in the Lothians whose babies are born at 34 weeks’ gestation or later and have received neonatal care through the NICU.

Following a pilot in the neonatal unit last year, the charity concluded that whilst becoming a new parent can be an exciting and challenging time – parents whose babies have needed specialist neonatal care are at greater risk of increased anxiety and isolation. It is estimated that parents of babies with a neonatal experience are 40% more likely to develop perinatal mental health difficulties. Parents with neonatal babies born at 34 weeks’ or later were identified as a cohort requiring enhanced support.

Funding secured from the National Lottery Community Fund, East Lothian Council, William Grant Foundation and the Charles Gordon Foundation has enabled Aberlour to establish the new Perinatal Befriending Service. It aims to connect with parents at the earliest opportunity both in hospital, community or home settings, building relationships to support parents and babies throughout pregnancy and in the first year of baby’s life.

Working in parallel with the charity’s NHS partners, the service offers in person support from a Perinatal Coordinator, a 1:1 match with a Perinatal Befriender and bespoke digital support all of which connects parents, improves emotional wellbeing, reduces isolation and supports positive relationships between parents and babies. It also recognises the significance of sustaining wider family relationships.

Perinatal befrienders are dedicated trained volunteers who are matched to parents and offer emotional listening support and help accessing services and activities in the community.

The launch of the service coincides with the launch of Aberlour’s Perinatal Connections app. As a result of listening to mums and gathering data, a gap was identified in mental health support services outside normal working hours for new and expectant mums. The app has been developed to offer a safe, facilitated space for new and expectant mothers supported by Aberlour to connect with each other and access information and resources whenever they wish.

Maree Todd, Mental Wellbeing Minister Maree Todd said: “Looking after our mental health is more important than ever before and we are committed to improving the mental health of mothers, fathers, carers and infants throughout pregnancy and during the postnatal period.

“I was pleased to visit Aberlour’s service and learn about their crucial support for families whose babies are receiving neonatal care. I am impressed by this service that offers vital emotional and befriending support to parents impacted by neonatal experiences.”

Emma Cashmore-Gordon, Assistant Director at Aberlour, said: “We were thrilled to welcome Maree Todd in her new capacity as Minister for Mental Wellbeing to the new Perinatal Befriending Service.

“It’s great to demonstrate how we are able to provide greater support with all the strands coming together – our Perinatal Co-ordinator, Perinatal Befrienders and the new app. Knowing that we can help families who have received neonatal care, in particular parents of babies born 34 weeks+ who really will benefit from the enhanced support is amazing”.

Megan, parent of Rosie, said: “The help I got from the service and the relationship with my befriender was unique.

“When I look back, I’m a totally different person now, when I have rough times, I can get through a day at a time”.

The Gift wins 2023 CATs Best Production for Children and Young People Award

The Gift has been presented with the award for best Production for Children and Young People at the 20^th annual Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland. The awards ceremony which took place on Sunday 11^th June at Traverse Theatre, saw Capital Theatres take home their first ever CATs award for the production.

Specially designed for children aged between 2 and 5 years old, The Gift is a story about how often, the wrapping paper, cardboard boxes and bubble wrap reveal playfulness, creativity and imagination – the true gift! The Festive show is bursting with energy, acrobatic dance, textures, sounds and colour to create a multi-sensory wonderland from the left-over boxes, ribbons and wrapping.

The Gift is a commission by Capital Theatres, Aberdeen Performing Arts and Eden Court, and a co-production between Barrowland Ballet and Capital Theatres for its 2022 presentation,

Natasha Gilmore, Artistic Director of Barrowland Ballet and creator of The Gift said: “It was such a privilege to sit in The studio at Capital theatre watching the Gift over Christmas with all these families enjoying going to the theatre together.

“A reminder of the joy of theatre and what a unique and memorable experience it is.”

Fiona Gibson, CEO of Capital Theatres said: “It was an absolute privilege to witness the impact and joy The Gift brought to young audiences and their families in The Studio last Christmas and we are thrilled Barrowland Ballet and Natasha Gilmore’s wonderful work has won a CATs award this year.

“Collaborating with Eden Court and Aberdeen Performing Arts for this commission has been a real pleasure and sits at the heart of our vision to support and develop Scottish talent.

“This is of particular significance for Capital Theatres as The Gift marks the first time we’ve commissioned new work for young children in our studio as well as our first CATs award as a producer.”

Ben Torrie, Director of Programming and Creative Arts of Aberdeen Performing Arts said: “It has been a real joy working with our friends at Capital Theatres and Eden Court on the joint commission, which has resulted in the creation of three fantastic productions.

“The innovative model makes the most of our collective resources, provides stability for venues and artists, as well as ensuring that more young audiences across Scotland get to experience top quality theatre.

“Everyone at Aberdeen Performing Arts is thrilled for Barrowland Ballet in receiving this much-deserved accolade, and we can’t wait to welcome the awarding-winning production of The Gift to the Lemon Tree this Christmas.”

Susannah Armitage, Eden Court Senior Producer said: “The Gift is a beautiful piece of festive dance theatre for children that had our young audiences transfixed.

“It was a joy to collaborate with the ever brilliant Natasha and Barrowland Ballet as part of our co-commissioning and co-producing partnership with Aberdeen Performing Arts and Capital Theatres.”

Launch of new guardianship service for children seeking asylum

There will be more support for unaccompanied asylum seeking and trafficked children arriving in Scotland, thanks to a new statutory guardianship service.

The Scottish Government has provided £1 million for the Guardianship Scotland service in 2022-23, and a further £1 million annually for the next two years initially.

The service will support children who have arrived in Scotland alone and help guide them through the asylum process.

Aberlour Children’s Charity and the Scottish Refugee Council have been awarded the contract to the run the service. Professionals employed by the service, known as Guardians, will:

accompany children and young people when they claim asylum and support them with expert advice
empower children and young people in the decision making process
listen to the experiences of affected children and young people and explain what is happening to them

Launching the service, Minister for Children and Young People Natalie Don said: “It is a privilege to help launch this new guardianship service, which is another example of how Scotland is offering a welcoming environment to people arriving in our country.

“Arriving alone can have a devastating and lasting impact on the lives of children and young people – so it is vitally important for them to be given access to the care and support they need to help them adjust to their new life here.

“I look forward to working with the Scottish Refugee Council and Aberlour to ensure that we are getting it right for all of the young people in need of our support.”

Catriona MacSween, Head of Guardianship Scotland, said: “It is wonderful that we can continue to deliver the excellent service. It is testament to the commitment and fantastic work of our guardians who work closely with local authorities and many other organisations to support unaccompanied children and young people.

“Asylum seeking children and victims of trafficking arrive in Scotland alone, confused and scared, having been through unimaginable trauma. We are so pleased that our work has been recognised and we can continue to help them.”

SallyAnn Kelly OBE, Chief Executive of Aberlour Children’s Charity, said: “We are thrilled to have been awarded the contract to run Guardianship Scotland.

“Aberlour has worked alongside the Scottish Government, Home Office and local authorities to ensure every unaccompanied asylum seeking child who is a victim of trafficking or potential victim of trafficking has the support of a guardian over the past 12 years. Recently, we have seen a significant rise in the numbers of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and there is an even greater need for the service.

“We are delighted to build on this successful partnership with the Scottish Refugee Council and provide support to more unaccompanied children.”

Sabir Zazai OBE, Chief Executive of Scottish Refugee Council said: “We are delighted to be delivering Guardianship Scotland with Aberlour and look forward to continuing our work together to develop this essential service.

“The young people we work with have been through things no child should have to endure. Many have survived human trafficking or fled countries torn apart by war, arriving in Scotland traumatised and alone with no friends or family to take care of them.

“We are committed to ensuring that every unaccompanied child in Scotland gets a dedicated guardian to support them, speak up for them and be by their side as they rebuild their lives.”

Are the kids alright?

Throughout 2020 and 2021, Public Health Scotland (PHS) ran three national surveys to hear directly from the parents and carers of younger children about how the COVID-19 pandemic, and the associated restrictions, had affected their families.

PHS heard how the pandemic had impacted on relationships, behaviour, mood and parental wellbeing, with negative outcomes reported more frequently in low-income households compared to high-income households.

Now, three years after the COVID-19 pandemic began, PHS is checking in again to see how young children and their families are doing. Parents and carers of a child aged between 0–11 years old are being asked to complete a new national survey, even if they have taken part in previous surveys or are caring for a child born out with the time of the pandemic restrictions. The survey is running for a fourth time from 8–30 June 2023, and PHS is keen to gauge any ripple effect, as well as any impact of the ongoing cost of living crisis.

Dr Grant Aitken, Public Health Intelligence Adviser at PHS, said:

“It’s important that we find out if the challenges we heard about previously are reducing, or if there are still some families who are struggling to cope with lasting impacts of the pandemic.

“Equally, it could be that some impacts are only becoming apparent now, and it’s important we capture these if so. This includes understanding people’s financial needs, with many families struggling to afford basics like food, housing costs or household bills.”

As with previous surveys, findings will be used by PHS to support practitioners, service providers and policy makers to respond to children and families in need, in areas covering childcare, education and health. Doing so is vital to help create a Scotland where all children and their families are given the chance to recover from the impacts of the pandemic, and to thrive.

Please complete the survey, or help us to promote it by emailing phs.comms@phs.scot for social media assets and a flyer for distribution or display.

TUC: UK’s parental leave and pay system needs an overhaul

New TUC survey finds low level of statutory paternity pay leaves families struggling financially – and stops 1 in 5 dads/partners from taking paternity leave at all

Low-income households and self-employed workers most likely to miss out on paternity leave
1 in 5 dads/partners who manage to take time off end up working during leave
Union body calls on ministers to increase statutory paternity pay and overhaul parental leave system

More than half (53%) of families struggle financially when dads/partners take paternity leave, according to a new TUC poll published today (Friday).

The survey also reveals that half (50%) of parents don’t feel they were able to take enough time off work as paternity leave to support their families.

And one in five (21%) parents told the TUC they didn’t take any paternity leave at all. The biggest reason for this – for more than one in four (27%) parents – is that they can’t afford to reduce their income.

Statutory paternity pay is currently £172.48 a week, or 90% of your average weekly earnings (whichever is lower), and paternity leave is one or two weeks.

Missing out

The TUC poll found:

Low earners: Household income has a big impact on take up of paternity leave. Nearly nine in 10 (86%) of parents where the household income is over £60,000 take statutory paternity leave provided by their employer, but this falls to two-thirds (65%) of dads/partners with a household income under £25k. And only one in seven (14%) dads/partners with household income under £25k take a more generous form of paternity leave than just the statutory – compared to more than one in three (35%) where the household income is over £80k.
Self-employed: Only one in three (31%) self-employed dads/partners took time off when their partner had a baby. Self-employed workers currently aren’t eligible for any statutory paternity pay. The TUC warns this reduces their ability to take time off work for the arrival of a new baby.

The poll also revealed that nearly one in five (18%) dads/partners are still doing some work whilst on paternity leave – rising to almost one in three (30%) part-time workers.

More than one in five (22%) do this because of the demands of their workload, and a similar percentage (19%) feel pressured to do this by their employers.

Government action needed

The TUC is calling on government to completely overhaul the current parental leave system.

The union body wants ministers to:

Increase statutory paternity pay: Statutory paternity pay needs to increase to at least the level of the real living wage, to make it feasible for dads/partners to take time out to care for their new-borns.

Extend parental leave: Both parents need a stand-alone right to their own individual period of well-paid parental leave – which is not dependent on the other partner sacrificing some of their leave (as it is in the current shared parental leave system).
Give parental leave and pay rights to all from day one: Parental leave and pay rights should be accessible to all, regardless of employment status – including those who are self-employed, agency workers or on zero-hours contracts. Qualifying periods for parental leave and pay rights should be scrapped and they should be available from day one in a job.

TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said: “It’s not right that so many dads can’t afford to take time off work when their babies are born.

“The arrival of a new-born is one of the most special moments in life. No parent should miss out on these precious first days.

“The UK’s parental leave and pay system needs an overhaul.

“Without better rights to well-paid leave, too many new parents will still miss out on spending time with their babies. And mums will continue to take on the bulk of caring.

“Ministers should give all dads better-paid paternity leave – and create a new right to well-paid parental leave just for dads, that doesn’t rely on mums giving up some of their maternity leave.”

Childline delivered over eight thousand counselling sessions to children in Scotland last year

Childline delivered 8,599 counselling sessions to children living in Scotland in 2022/23
Aberdeen and Glasgow Childline bases delivered 29,741 counselling sessions to children across the UK in 2022/23
195,542 counselling sessions were delivered by Childline across the UK in 2022/23
These figures are being released by the NSPCC as people across the nation come together to Celebrate Childhood Day on Friday, June 9
Schools and nurseries in Scotland are taking part in the Childhood Day Mile
The Scottish public have already generously donated at Childhood Day collections and events

The NSPCC has released new figures today showing its Childline service delivered over 8,000 counselling sessions to children in Scotland last year, as people across the nation come together to play their part in the charity’s fundraising day – Childhood Day (June 9).

Last year at least 8,599 of the counselling sessions delivered by Childline were with children and young people who were living in Scotland.

While almost 30,000 (29,741) sessions were delivered to children across the UK by a counsellor based at the NSPCC’s Glasgow and Aberdeen Childline call centres.

In total, over 195,000 Childline counselling sessions were held with young people from across the UK over the past year (2022/23), and the charity is determined to continue to be there for any child who wishes to speak to them about their worries and concerns.

The top five main concerns for children were mental and emotional health and wellbeing; family relationships; friendship issues; bullying and school/education problems.

The NSPCC launched its flagship fundraising and awareness day, Childhood Day, three years ago, to bring communities together and highlight the vital role everyone can play in helping to keep children safe from abuse and neglect.

This year, the charity has already seen displays of support in Scotland including collections at Morrisons in Inverurie and outside the Bruce Springsteen concert in Edinburgh, which brought in donations of £1,288.

Staff and volunteers from Glasgow Childline also raised £1,472 by doing a sponsored ‘Silly Hat Walk’ along the River Clyde in Glasgow on Sunday, June 4. This will enable Childline counsellors to deliver 368 counselling sessions to children and young people.

While staff and volunteers from Childline also raised £3,084 by taking part in the Aberdeen and Glasgow Kiltwalks.

Schools and nurseries in Scotland are also getting involved in the Childhood Day Mile including the Apple Tree Nursery in Rothesay, they are walking from the beach to the tearoom and back again, while Small Isles Primary School on the Isle of Jura and Keills Primary School on Islay, have children taking part in fun obstacle courses to complete the mile as well as football dribbling and scoring challenges. The children have also planned a whole school conga dance around the playground!

All funds raised will go to the NSPCC to help support the vital work in helping to protect children and young people. Individuals are also getting involved with the Mile in fun and creative ways, as well as taking part in volunteering to help raise donations and spread the word about Childhood Day.

Childhood Day Mile

Even if you don’t have responsibility for a child in your life, the NSPCC believes that strong communities are a key piece of the puzzle when it comes to safeguarding children.

This year the charity encouraged schools and the wider public to do their bit to support Childhood Day by taking on the Childhood Day Mile and has seen huge amounts of support across the UK.

How to Support

Whilst Childhood Day is an opportunity for everyone to get involved and raise money whilst having fun, it is also important to recognise the need for Childhood Day and the work done by the NSPCC. Half a million children across the UK suffer from abuse and neglect, which is equal to roughly seven children in a classroom experiencing abuse before they turn 18.

The NSPCC fights tirelessly to change this, and the charity’s work helps shape a better future for children in which they are safe from harm.

Jo Swinhoe, Director of Fundraising at NSPCC said: “We’re thrilled to be celebrating Childhood Day today and to see the huge amount of support across the UK.

“It’s been wonderful to have so many participants getting involved in the Childhood Mile and other fundraising efforts, and the NSPCC would like to thank every single person who has donated or volunteered.

“This special day helps us to continue to support children and protect them from abuse as we work to ensure as many children as possible have a safe and joyful childhood.”

It’s never too late to show your support for Childhood Day and the amazing work being done up and down the UK by the NSPCC. You can find out more about how to get involved with Childhood Day here.

The NSPCC is urging anyone with concerns about a child, even if they’re unsure, to contact the NSPCC Helpline to speak to one of the charity’s professionals. People can call 0808 800 5000 or email help@nspcc.org.uk.

Children and young people can contact Childline about anything that may be worrying them 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, by calling 0800 1111 or a 1-2-1 chat is available online, visit: www.childline.org.uk.

Sponsors

Lidl GB and Sky Cares, Sky’s community outreach programme, are sponsoring the NSPCC’s Childhood Day for a second year as retail and media sponsors. Lidl GB has been partnered with the NSPCC for 6 years and are currently supporting young people with their mental health by raising money for Childline. Sky Cares has been partnered with the NSPCC for three years and are committed to supporting the communities where their customers and employees live and work. Both partners will be helping to raise awareness of Childhood Day, as well as holding their own activities with their colleagues and customers across Great Britain to help raise vital funds.

Nearly half of Scottish parents are struggling to maintain a work-life balance during cost of living crisis

The Balancing Act: Nearly half of Scottish parents (42%) admit their job prevents them maintaining a healthy work-life balance when it comes to their children, with 78% further admitting they feel trapped in their current career due to external factors

The Need for Change: Self-employment ranked as most attractive (27%) amongst Scottish parents looking for a new career to allow them a better work-parenting balance
New Career Aspirations: AA Driving School research reveals under pressure parents seek working-life changes

New research from AA Driving School shows that nearly half (42% and 51% across the UK) of Scottish parents find their job prevents them from finding a healthy work-life balance, due to childcare and cost of living pressures.

Increases to the cost of childcare have driven Scottish parents to work either additional hours in their current job (19%) or even take another job (12%) to financially support their family.

The Balancing Act

Data found that 22% of Glaswegians experience parent guilt every day (compared to 18% nationally), the top cause being the need to work additional hours which in Scotland was 50% to support their family financially.

More than half (52%) of UK parents agree that childcare costs influence their career decisions, with the age-old dilemma of ‘having it all’ truly impacting parents as nearly 3 in 5 (59%) feel guilty for working long hours instead of spending time with their children.

Nearly a quarter (24%) of Scottish parents admit they have missed their child’s sports day, parents evening (19%) and even their first steps (10%) due to work commitments.

The Need for Change

Against this backdrop, half of UK parents (49%) are ready to take the plunge and will look to explore a new career path this year to improve their work-life balance. With 60% of people in Edinburgh valuing flexible hours the most when seeking new career benefits, compared to the national average of 50%.

Among UK parents considering a change of employment, nearly third (34% and 27% across Scotland) would prefer self-employment if they were to change careers – ahead of retail (14%), healthcare (13%), education (19%) or other office work such as HR, IT and customer services (16%).

AA Driving School is encouraging Brits who are unhappy with their work-life balance to consider more flexible employment by becoming their own boss as an AA driving instructor.

Camilla Benitz, Managing Director at AA Driving School comments: “Inflexible 9-5 working models make it difficult for many parents to balance work and family life.

“Our research shows there is a greater need for workplace flexibility to assist UK parents balance financial, career and parenting needs. Many AA Driving School instructors have chosen this career to allow them flexibility around their families as well as having a long-term, rewarding career.”

Darren Churchill, an AA Driving School instructor since 2021 shares how being able to work flexibly and choose his own hours has improved his work-life balance: “It was being put on furlough during the first lockdown that first got me thinking about a career change.

“I really valued the extra time I had with my children and I realised I didn’t want to give that up by going back to a 9 to 5 job. Having worked as a front of house manager for Ford previously, I was keen to stay within the motoring industry and becoming a driving instructor really appealed.

“It’s the best decision I’ve made as the flexibility it gives me with my children and family life is invaluable.”

For more information on how to become an AA Driving Instructor, please visit: Driving Instructor Training Courses | AA Driving School (theaa.com)

Coalition calls for political consensus as more than 460 children wait more than a year for mental health treatment

The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition (SCSC), an alliance of leading providers of specialist care and education to vulnerable children and young people, is calling on all Scotland’s political parties to come together and make mental health a key focus.

The call comes as new waiting time figures out yesterday (6^th June), highlight that 469 children and young people had been languishing on waiting lists for more than a year for treatment from child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) at the quarter ending March 2023.¹

Indeed, just 74.2 per cent of patients with mental health problems were seen within 18 weeks of referral to CAMHS, with more than a quarter waiting longer than this time. This is short of the Scottish Government’s waiting time target of 90 per cent being seen within 18 weeks. ¹

The new figures indicate that it has failed to deliver a key pledge to clear waiting lists by March 2023, as outlined in the NHS Recovery Plan.²

Figures also show that as many as 7,701 children and young people were still stuck on waiting lists to start treatment at the end of the quarter ending March 2023, an increase of 138 on the previous quarter ending December 2022.

The new figures are set against the backdrop of a mental health emergency, which is set to worsen given the cost-of-living crisis and services already at breaking point.

The SCSC is calling on a cross party approach to prioritise spending on mental health, avoiding a potential lost generation of children and young people with mental health problems, such as anxiety, depression and self-harm.

Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, cases of poor mental health in children and young people were at unprecedented levels, with under-resourced services struggling to keep pace with growing demand, leaving an increasing number of vulnerable individuals unable to access support. Children and young people are still battling with the long shadow of lockdown, and the rising cost of living is adding to the pressure.

A spokesperson for the SCSC commented: “The latest figures highlighting that more than 460 of our children and young people have been languishing on waiting lists for treatment more than a year is extremely alarming.

“Disturbingly, this means that the Scottish Government has totally failed to achieve its pledge to clear waiting lists by March 2023, leaving many thousands of children and young people waiting for treatment.

“Even before the Covid-19 pandemic demand for already overstretched and under-resourced mental health services was increasing. The mental health of our children and young people has deteriorated markedly over the past decade, and both the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis are making matters even worse, creating a potential lost generation of vulnerable children and young people.

“We are facing a mental health emergency and many of our children and young people are at breaking point, with stress and anxiety reaching alarming levels as they battle with the long shadow of lockdown and the rising cost of living.

“We must make the delivery of adequately resourced mental health services for our children and young people an absolute priority and would urge all of Scotland’s political parties to come together and make this a reality.”

¹Public Health Scotland, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services: Waiting Times in Scotland, Quarter Ending December 2022, 7^th March 2023. Dashboard. Available at: https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/child-and-adolescent-mental-health-services-camhs-waiting-times/child-and-adolescent-mental-health-services-camhs-waiting-times-quarter-ending-december-2022/

² Scottish Government, NHS Recovery Plan, 25^th August 2021. Available at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/nhs-recovery-plan/pages/9/ (accessed 2^nd September 2021).

Audiology scandal: We must not fail these children twice, deaf charity warns

The National Deaf Children’s Society has backed calls in the Scottish Parliament for more support for deaf children affected by the NHS Lothian audiology scandal.

A motion proposed by Jeremy Balfour, Conservative MSP for Lothians, on the current lack of support, has received cross party backing and will be debated in Parliament tomorrow (Thursday 8^th June).

The debate follows a roundtable which Mr Balfour organised with families whose children were affected by the scandal earlier in the year.

The debate – S6M-08219 Ensuring that Lothian Late-diagnosed Deaf Children Get the Support That They Need – will be held at 12:30pm, before First Minsters Question Time. It will conclude with a Scottish Government Minster responding to points raised by concerned MSPs.

The motion highlights that the failure of NHS Lothian to identify children’s deafness early will mean some children permanently miss out on opportunities to develop language and communication.

An independent report published in 2021, found that NHS Lothian was identifying children’s deafness when they were on average 4.5 years old, while the average age of identification as deaf in England was three months. The report was commissioned after the National Deaf Children’s Society raised concerns about the quality of children’s audiology at NHS Lothian.

Mark Ballard, Head of Policy for Scotland for the National Deaf Children’s Society, welcomed the debate saying: “It’s vital that NHS Lothian and local authorities work together to ensure every child affected by the failings of NHS Lothian’s paediatric audiology service get the support that they need to thrive.

“We must not fail these children twice – first by failing to identify their deafness and then by failing to give them the support they need, especially as their needs may be more complex due to late identification.”

The National Deaf Children’s Society is calling for a specialist resource provision to be set up within a school in Lothian and the Borders, similar to those in Glasgow, Falkirk and Dundee.

The charity wants NHS Lothian and local authorities to work together on an individual plan for support for every deaf child involved.

The National Deaf Children’s Society also calls for the recruitment of additional specialist staff to address the more complex language and communications needs of children whose deafness was missed in the early years, who may struggle to catch up with their hearing classmates.

Every Moment Counts: Deaf children in Scotland need better support in early years

The National Deaf Children’s Society has launched a new five-year strategy, Every Moment Counts, which aims to ensure all deaf children across Scotland receive the support they need during their early years (0-5), or as soon as their deafness is identified.

The charity is shifting the focus of its campaigning to early years as it strongly believes that families need first class support during this crucial period, so they feel empowered to make informed decisions and champion their deaf child.

For all children the early years is a crucial time, but the National Deaf Children’s Society says this is even more so for deaf children, given the impact deafness can have on language development, communication, and social skills.

Missed opportunities to spot deafness and provide the support deaf children need can lead to lifelong impacts, according to the charity.

It says a deaf child without good language and communication development in the early years, be it spoken, sign, or a mixture of both, can experience ongoing challenges. They may struggle to listen and follow instructions in the classroom, or miss conversations with their peers, leading to feelings of isolation and a sense of ‘missing out’.

Kirsten Abioye’s son was not diagnosed as deaf until he was almost three due to failures at their local heath board’s paediatric audiology service.

Kirsten said: “Our experience of early years was really hard. The audiology department was unhelpful and dismissed me as an anxious mum. We experienced delays and a general lack of communication which left us in a difficult position. We knew something was going on with our son but did not know how to support him. His diagnosis brought overwhelming relief.”

Teachers of the Deaf can help bridge this gap, by providing specialist support to deaf children of all ages once their deafness is identified. They play a vital role in deaf children’s lives, particularly during the critical early years – helping to reduce their chances of them falling behind developmentally, socially and educationally.

But a report published by the Consortium for Research into Deaf Education (CRIDE), shows Teachers of the Deaf numbers across Scotland have fallen by 40% in a decade and almost half (45%) are due to retire in the next 10 years. The fall in numbers is twice that of other parts of the UK.

This means thousands of deaf children across Scotland are not getting the support they need in school. Deaf young people in Scotland are already twice as likely as their hearing classmates to leave school with no qualifications and half as likely to go on to university.

Against this backdrop it comes as no surprise that some parents of deaf children in Scotland are concerned that their deaf child does not have enough support from health and education services. Having access to information and advice is crucial in helping families make tricky decisions about how their child will communicate, which technology they’ll use and what type of school they’ll attend.

Kirsten describes her family’s Teacher of the Deaf as an “advocate, support system, teacher, encourager, source of information – all in one woman!”

She said: “Her support has been a lifeline, and she works closely with our son’s nursery who also provide excellent support.”

But even with a great Teacher of the Deaf and nursery, Kirsten’s family still struggled, as the specialist support their family urgently required was simply not available to them.

Kirsten continued: “It was a very isolating, stressful time because we just wanted to be able to support our child. I contacted the National Deaf Children’s Society and had a chat with a member of staff, who was really understanding. She listened and understood my panic that we had missed the opportunity for language learning and were really behind.

“She helped me fill in an application for a family learning course, funded and run by the charity, which kick started our British Sign Language (BSL) learning. She’s been with us through various different parts of life since, most recently our difficulty finding accessible swimming lessons.”

The National Deaf Children’s Society warns that unless action is taken urgently things will only get worse. It is calling on local authorities across Scotland to commit to returning qualified Teacher of the Deaf numbers to 2011 levels over the next decade.

At their annual congress in May, The Scottish Secondary Teachers Association (SSTA), Scotland’s second largest teaching union, unanimously agreed a motion backing the charity’s call on the Scottish Government to address the dramatic drop in the number of qualified Teachers of the Deaf, as “matter of urgency”.

The charity also calls on the Scottish Government to develop and deliver a Scotland-wide workforce strategy for Teachers of the Deaf, and to ensure they are properly paid for the extra responsibilities they take on, in recognition that their specialist expertise is valued.

Mark Ballard, Head of Policy and Influencing for Scotland with the National Deaf Children’s Society, said: “Deaf children are just as capable as their peers when they have right support in place, ideally from the very beginning. But many families in Scotland are struggling to access this support.

“It means that deaf children just aren’t being given the opportunity to thrive in those crucial formative years. Once they fall behind, it can be incredibly hard to catch up and this can have a lasting impact that affects them throughout their lives.

“Every moment counts, from the time a child’s deafness is identified, to their first day at school and beyond. We owe it to deaf children to give them the best start in life.”

For more information about Every Moment counts, visit:

ndcs.org.uk/everymomentcounts

To learn more about the support available for deaf children in their early years visit the National Deaf Children’s Society website.