Schools Minister Nick Gibb praises inclusive Red Oaks Primary School as a beacon of excellence

School’s Minister Nick Gibb paid a visit to Red Oaks Primary School to witness pioneering work being done to integrate children with a range of hearing impairments into mainstream education.

During the tour, Mr Gibb, accompanied by North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson, was shown around the school by headteacher Rachel Surch.

And he had the opportunity to meet children, including Oscar-winning actor Maisie Sly, 6, who was recognised for her work in the film The Silent Child.

Mrs Surch said: “We encourage hearing children to use some British Sign Language - it’s seen as normal. We have a really inclusive culture here at Red Oaks which we are really proud of. There are very few schools like ours in the South West.”

She explained that the school employs numerous members of staff at the school who are deaf and others who are fluent in using sign language.

Red Oaks, which caters for 500 children, is seen as a beacon of excellence in the way it caters for children with hearing loss, with many parents moving into the school’s catchment area to benefit from the higher levels of provision.

MP Justin Tomlinson said: “As a former minister for disabled people, I’m incredibly proud that Swindon is leading the way in ensuring that all children with hearing impairments have the opportunity to fulfil their potential.”

Schools minister Nick Gibb praised the work of the staff at Red Oaks Primary and said that he had been impressed by the dedication of the staff.

Answering criticisms from the National Deaf Children’s society that schools are seeing increasing cuts to support for deaf children he said: “All schools are facing increased costs and of course with the advances in medical science children have increasingly complex needs that schools need to cater for. We keep these issues under review the whole time.

“We’re coming up to another spending review period. It’s a matter of the government taking a balanced approach to public spending. We have to make sure we take a balanced approach. We have to make sure we keep the deficit under control. We have to make sure we have a strong economy. But at the same time, we need to make sure we are funding essential services like schools.”

But he refused to say whether there would be any more cash for schools like Red Oaks in the next budget, saying “You’re asking me to go way beyond my pay grade.”