Improving Special Needs Education

This morning the Conservative Policy Commission on Special Needs in Education published its recommendations to restore special school places and to involve parents more in their children’s education.

David Cameron set up the Policy Commission in 2005. It is chaired by Sir Bob Balchin. The report makes makes two key recommendations:

1. Special schools should be offered the opportunity to change to 'Special Academy Status', which would give them freedom to respond to the challenges presented by the loss of 9,000 special school places since 1997.

2. The assessment process should become independent, Statements should be replaced by ‘Special Needs Profiles’ produced by independent ‘Profile Assessors’. This would ensure that the categorisation given to children is not simply based on what their local authority can currently provide.

The report has been welcomed by Shadow Education Secretary Michael Gove who said:

“The children most in need deserve a better deal. In the last ten years the failed ideology of ‘inclusion’ and the drop in special school places have left the most vulnerable more exposed. This report charts a way forward which puts parents back in the driving seat and I welcome it.”

The report will now be considered by the Shadow Cabinet.

You can download a copy of the report here.

Comments

[601]

Not much in this report in the way of costs. Nothing in this report on any new money that would go to schools or where costs might be cut.Like the other reports it does not mean much if the reccomendations are not fully costed.

[clive elliot]

One can worry of course about the cost of providing more special school places, but the absence of such places and the policy of inclusion being forced down the throats of mainstream schools is having a devastating effect of the education of the other children, and on teacher morale.

It has got to be possible to take children with severe behavioural problems, and other major mental disabilities, out of mainstream classrooms and give them special attention from specialised teachers who are trained to deal with these difficulties.
Mainstream schools with 30 to a class simply cannot cope, and a small number of disruptive pupils have a disproportionate adverse effect.

An increase in special school places will pay off, even financially, in the long run,
and of course benefit this needy segment of society.

[Adam Tugwell]

Please all be minded of the fact that Special Schools are again experiencing further threat from the Repeal of Section 75 of the Local Government & Provisons Act (1975).

Local Authority Officers are making what I understand to be good progress on a workable solution to this but they could still do with time. Enactment needs to be delayed at the very least or as Clive has alluded to above, many more SEN children will soon be in mainstream education and then there really will be a problem.

Please read my earlier CH Platform article on:

http://conservativehome.blogs.com/platform/2007/05/adam_tugwell_sc.html#comments

Please then support the Petition on:

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/SENTransport/

Thanks.

[Scotty]

"2. The assessment process should become independent, Statements should be replaced by ‘Special Needs Profiles’ produced by independent ‘Profile Assessors’. This would ensure that the categorisation given to children is not simply based on what their local authority can currently provide."

That would be a fantastic development if implemented, but it has to have the appropriate funding available if needed for it to work.

[Robert Buckland]

A very welcome report indeed. The need for an assessment independent of the LEA has been outlined by members of the Swindon SEN Network at recent meetings. There was a strong feeling amongst parents and SENCos that educational psychologists were being put under pressure from LEAs to avoid making recommendations that would prove to be costly to implement. We submitted written evidence last month to the former Education and Skills Select Committee on this point, but the abolition of the Department has resulted in the demise of this Committee. Does anyone know whether their investigation into the LEAs role in the statementing process is to be carried on by a successor Select Committee?

For the Swindon SEN Network go to www.swindon-senn.net, or read our evidence at www.robertbuckland.co.uk