DEAF children in York are falling a grade behind their hearing classmates at GCSE because of the barriers they face in their education, a charity has said.

The National Deaf Children’s Society has said more needs to be done to overcome the gap in attainment between deaf children and their hearing peers in York

York Central MP Rachael Maskell has met with the National Deaf Children’s Society and a deaf young campaigner at the Labour Party Annual Conference in Liverpool to talk about the future of deaf children’s education.

Ella, 14, and Ms Maskell discussed key issues affecting deaf children, including education funding and the gap in attainment between deaf children and their hearing peers in York.

The meeting comes as deaf children’s services across the country face cuts of £4 million this year.

Jessica Reeves, campaigns manager at National Deaf Children’s Society, said: “It’s great to see MPs like Rachael Maskell coming to meet young deaf people to hear about the daily challenges they have to face.

“Deafness is not a learning disability and when deaf children get the support they need at school, there are no limits to what they can achieve. However, deaf children in York are currently falling a grade behind their hearing classmates at GCSE.

“Meetings like this are an excellent way for deaf children like Ella to talk to MPs about the barriers they face in their education and how we can all work together to overcome them.”

There are 128 deaf children in the City of York.

There are around 45,000 deaf children in England.

Around 78 per cent of deaf children in England attend mainstream schools.

Just 41 per cent of deaf young people achieve 2 A-levels or equivalent by the age of 19, compared to 65 per cent of other young people.

- For more information visit www.ndcs.org.uk.