Special needs
Children in England and Wales have a right to be educated within a mainstream setting
Sally & Richard Greenhill
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Include me out?
It's the law. Children in England and Wales have a right to be educated within a mainstream setting, whatever their emotional, mental or physical disability. This is 'inclusion', and the move towards it has been shared by most of Europe and the USA over the past 20 years or so.
The result is that the vast majority of children with special educational needs are now taught in mainstream schools. These are usually, but not always, children with the most severe or multiple disabilities who present the greatest challenges.
The political divide
The Conservative Party wants a halt to the closure programme of special schools. The Labour Government's policy is to encourage further integration.
However, figures just published show that integration has been very patchy. Children in the north-east of England with special needs are 24 times more likely to be segregated than children in the East End of London.
The difference has been highlighted by campaigners such as Disability Equality in Education and other advocacy groups. They see inclusion as a step towards tolerance of diversity and essential to the educational experience of disabled children. But other campaigners argue that inclusion doesn't meet the needs of certain children. They are likely to do better in schools wholly focused on their needs.
Some parents of children on the autistic spectrum, for example, are among those who say that their children cannot thrive in the environment of a mainstream school. There's also concern that children with emotional and behavioural difficulties can affect the learning of other children in a mainstream school.
U-turn
One of the prime movers behind the first policies of inclusion 25 years ago, philosopher Baroness Mary Warnock now argues that more special schools are needed. She says that current policy should be reversed.
'Since 2002, heads and governors have been liable to a criminal charge if they exclude a disruptive child from a mainstream school against the wishes of the parent. Yet it seems clear that disruptive children frequently hinder teaching and learning.' She now believes that the 'worthy ideal' of inclusion can be 'carried too far'.
'Robust' evidence
Recent research into inclusion policies in US primary schools looked at whether the education of mainstream children suffers when children with special needs are taught alongside them. It revealed no significant impact on academic performance and achievement.
Nevertheless, the study group felt that more research needed to be done, especially in UK secondary schools. The danger of leaving this gap in knowledge unfilled is that 'policy and practice will be developed on the basis of an enthusiasm for inclusion or an antipathy towards it, neither of which is informed by robust evidence'.
In other words, don't run with the idea that inclusion is the only way forward before we really see what the effects are. But don't dismiss it out of hand either.
New ideas, new schools
Some say that specialist schools like Stepping Stones in Surrey meet difficult educational and social needs – and could be the way forward
steppingstones.org.uk
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Small, specialist schools designed for children whose educational and social needs are difficult to meet may be the way forward, say some innovators.
Educationist and e-learning expert Stephen Heppell says: 'Some kids have needs that can be really hard to meet in a traditional school – this is particularly true with some behavioural problems – and although other kids in the same school may be very good at making allowances for them, some children can be stereotyped irreparably. Some kids have just slight differences, and these can be harder sometimes to cope with.'
Stephen has recently helped to build and develop Stepping Stones, a tiny school, with space for up to 25 pupils with hemiplegia (similar to cerebral palsy) and moderate learning difficulties.
He comments: 'These children may go to a traditional school, but they tend to miss out on sports and games and get left behind when the class rush down the corridor. In later life, they run the risk of serious mental health problems, maybe as a result of their experiences at school. So we are trying a tiny, bespoke specialist school to see how that can help.'
It is planned that Stepping Stones pupils will attend some lessons at local schools, and the schools will be encouraged to use the sophisticated technology available at Stepping Stones.
For or against?
'We have never been opposed to inclusion when children with special needs have been given the support they need. The problems come when that support is not there and teachers use up their time and expertise helping a single child, leaving the rest of the class to their own devices.' – Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT (Britain's second largest teaching union)
'It is a difficult one ... but I do think the division of children is not a good idea. Where possible, children should be educated together.' – Tony Benn, politician
'The suggestion [of creating more special schools] fails to recognise the important role of inclusion in educating the whole community about impairment and disability.' – Chris Osbourne, The Children's Society
'Autistic needs aren't subtly different from mainstream needs; they're diametrically opposed … Most autistic children learn nothing in a group. They shrink from change, bustle, laughter or playground chatter – all inevitable and desirable features of school life.' – Charlotte Moore, author and mother of two autistic sons
