Mary Backs Campaign for Better Acoustics in Schools

Mary Creagh and Schools Secretary Ed Balls met with a deaf 17-year-old TV star at the Labour Party Conference this week, to find out about the barriers deaf young people face at school. 

Louis Kissaun, who starred in the Channel 4 series Shameless, spoke out about the reasons deaf children and young people are underachieving, including the damaging impact poor acoustics in the classroom can have on their learning.  The campaign is one that is close to Mary’s heart as she lost her hearing at the age of 27 due to otosclerosis - arthritis of the ear.

Mary Creagh said: "High ceilings and bad acoustics can cause distortion and feedback in hearing aids. There is currently a gap between the results from deaf and hearing children and this needs to be addressed. If a child can't hear properly, they can't learn properly.  Being deaf is not a learning difficulty, it's a physical disability and needs to be treated as such.  Better acoustics are part of the Building Schools for the Future requirements."