Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to provide support for children with auditory impairments in schools.

The department’s ambition is for all children and young people, no matter what their Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), to receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. The department is creating a new single national SEND and Alternative Provision system for how needs are identified and met across Education, Health and Care. This new single national system will set standards on what support should be made available in mainstream settings, including for children with hearing impairments, and when specialist provision may be more appropriate for meeting a child or young person’s needs.

It is the responsibility of local authorities, schools, and further education settings to commission appropriately qualified staff to support the education of children and young people in their area.

To teach a class of pupils with sensory impairments, a teacher is required to hold the relevant mandatory qualification, which is a Mandatory Qualification in Sensory Impairment (MQSI). Teachers working in an advisory role to support these pupils should also hold the appropriate qualification.

To offer MQSIs, providers must be approved by my right. hon Friend, the Secretary of State for Education. The department’s aim is to ensure a steady supply of teachers for children with visual, hearing, and multi-sensory impairments, in both specialist and mainstream settings. There are currently six providers of the MQSI, with a seventh to begin in September 2024.

The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education has also developed a Sensory Impairment apprenticeship and expects it to be available from 2025. This will open a paid, work-based route into teaching children and young people with sensory impairments by enabling people to undertake high-quality apprenticeships.