Carmarthenshire County Council marks Deaf Awareness Week

South Wales Guardian

11-05-2025

The council is recognising the culture, language, and experiences of deaf children, young people, and their families.
The theme highlights that communication extends beyond sound and speech, encompassing facial expressions, signs, gestures, technology, and shared understanding.
The council supports more than 200 children and young people with unique communication needs, championing all approaches including British Sign Language (BSL), speech, and total communication.
The council's efforts are led by six specialist qualified teachers of deaf children and young people, two of whom are parents of deaf children.
The sensory impairment service, part of the additional learning needs team, has been led by a new service manager since September 2024, who is herself profoundly deaf.
The council also acknowledged the contribution of teaching assistants in ensuring every deaf learner feels supported.
Schools across Carmarthenshire are also playing their part in creating inclusive environments.
Ysgol Parcyrhun has collaborated with the Children's Commissioner for Wales to raise awareness of BSL and deaf inclusion.
Queen Elizabeth High School has developed a deaf role model programme, regularly welcoming successful deaf individuals to inspire students.
Ysgol Bryngwyn arranged BSL taster sessions for every Year 7 class last term, promoting inclusivity and communication beyond the spoken word.
Councillor Glynog Davies, cabinet member for education and Welsh language, said: "As a local authority, we are incredibly proud of the achievements of each one of our deaf learners and are grateful to our specialist teachers and staff for the wonderful work that they do to support our children and young people."