AQW 6739/17-22

Ms Kellie Armstrong
Alliance Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 11/09/2020
Answered On Date: 21/09/2020
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Education what actions he has taken to ensure children and young people who have hearing impairments are not being excluded through use of material face coverings.

Answer:

The Education Authority Sensory Service has advised that individual discussions/assessments should take place in schools, in partnership with individual children with hearing impairments and their families, to consider the impact of any decision to use face coverings in the classroom and communal areas of the school.

The Education Authority Teachers of the Deaf are available to provide support in order to mitigate the risks to the learning and communication needs of deaf children and young people.

There has been no specific guidance issued in relation to the use of clear masks in Special Schools; ordinary schools nor in relation to transport staff.