Children's drugs review call

An urgent review of guidelines for the use of drugs to treat hyperactive children has been called for by the Tories as they launched a report outlining reforms to the special needs system.

Conservative leader David Cameron said there should be more research into the long-term effects of drugs such as Ritalin to treat the medical condition Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

He said the Tories want a moratorium on the closure of special schools and reforms to the current "nightmare" system for the "statementing" of children - the system for assessing the educational needs of special needs children.

Asked on GMTV about his concerns about the drug Ritalin, he said: "For many parents with children with ADHD it is the right drug and it is vital they get it and if it helps them, that is absolutely right. But I think there is a concern that the prescription of it has gone up so fast.

"We are asking for a review because we just want to find out more about the possible side-effects, the possible damages and also to ask the question 'are there other things we should be doing as well to help with these families and with these children?'."

Mr Cameron insisted that the Tories were not calling for Ritalin to be withdrawn, saying that for many parents it was an "absolute lifeline".

He said that as a parent of a special needs child - his son Ivan - he knew that drugs were "incredibly important".

His remarks come as proposals to reform the system for pupils with special education needs, introducing new independent assessments and boosting places at special schools, were unveiled by the Conservatives.

Mr Cameron said he wanted the drawing-up of statements of Special Educational Needs to be taken away from councils and given to independent experts.

He said councils should be left as providers of special services. He said: "The statementing process that you go through is a complete nightmare. If you have a child with special needs, the doors should be thrown open to you for all the things you need. Instead they are sort of slammed shut and you have to fight your way through. That is not right and that needs to be changed."

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