Council refuses to pause revamp of ‘exemplar’ Torquay deaf services

Parents of deaf children using an ‘exemplar’ service in Torquay have made an impassioned plea for it to be saved.

Felicity Morris, secretary of the parent teacher association at St Margaret’s primary school, urged Torbay Council to rethink plans to change the way it supports education for children with hearing impairments.

“We are talking about a whole community, not just a classroom,” she said.

The council wants to end specialist services at St Margaret’s and at Spires College in Torquay. It says not enough children use the services and the money could be better spent elsewhere to support children in mainstream schools.

But parents say they have not been consulted properly, and the services are vital for their children.

The issue sparked a bitter political row for the council, with Conservative mayor Hannah Stevens (Con, Furzeham with Summercombe) using her casting vote to decide the issue after the council’s 18 Tories voted one way and its 18 Liberal Democrat and independent councillors voted the other.

The non-Tories wanted the closure plans paused for fuller consultation, but the Conservatives wanted the council’s overview and scrutiny committee to press on with the process.

Miss Morris opened the meeting by telling the councillors that more than 1,600 people had signed a petition challenging the way the authority decided on the future of the units.

“An entire pathway of support is being dismantled,” she said. “Any changes in provision must involve consultation. Other councils have followed this process. Why hasn’t Torbay?”

She disputed the assertion that demand was declining, and said the decision by council officers had been ‘misinformed’.

Cllr Nick Bye (Con, Wellswood), cabinet member for children’s services, said the issue was ‘incredibly complex’, and the figures given in the petition did not tally with those he had received from officers. But, he added: “No specialist provision is being removed. The same children will remain in the same settings with the same support.

“We all want the very best for all our children.”

He said pausing the process would add to the uncertainty.

“The money follows the children, to meet their needs,” he added. “There is absolutely no way I would support a change that would damage the wellbeing of those children and their future opportunities.”

Cllr Alan Tyerman (Con, Churston with Galmpton) said the units are not being closed, and it was just a change in the way they are funded.

But Liberal Democrat leader Swithin Long (Barton with Watcombe) said confusion over the figures meant the issue should be paused for more consultation.

And Independent leader Cllr Darren Cowell (Shiphay) added: “Pausing says we are serious about listening, and reviewing, and making sure the process is robust.”

Cllr Yvonne Twelves (Con, Kings Ash) said it was important for the children and their families to get the matter sorted out as soon as possible, but Cllr Ras Virdee (Lib Dem, St Marychurch) said the service is being ‘dismantled on a whim’ behind closed doors.

Cllr George Darling (Lib Dem, St Marychurch) put forward the unsuccessful motion for a pause. “It is the right thing to do to make sure the parents’ concerns are heard,” he said. “The council needs to accept that it might have got this wrong.”

Reflecting on the meeting, Miss Morris said that she was “disappointed” that the council did not vote for the proposed amendment but that she is still “feeling positive” about the review. 

She also suggested a contradiction in the council’s approach, noting that its new locality model for children with additional needs appears to be at odds with its reasoning for closing the hearing impairment units.

The council’s pilot project, currently being trialled, aims to reduce the need for Education and Healthcare Plans (EHCPs) so that children with additional needs can receive support more quickly, cutting long waiting times for assessments. 

However, the lack of EHCPs at St Margaret’s has been used as the basis for the council’s decision to close the unit.

Miss Morris said: “The council has said that if you have the resources to support a child, then do it—don’t waste time chasing paperwork. But now they are using the lack of EHCPs as justification to claim the units aren’t needed.”

Cllr George Darling shared Miss Morris’ sentiment, adding: “The really shameful thing is that parents are telling me that they were discouraged from applying for EHCPs over the last few years. I feel in some way that St Margaret’s is a victim of its success in that it’s been able to support pupils with hearing impairment within the school framework without having to apply for EHCPs. But now the council is using that data to say that the hearing impairment units are not needed. This is why the report is so important.

“I think the intent from the council has been right, but the way they have gone about it has potentially left them in a very dangerous situation."