The head of Communications and Campaigns for Scope, Louise High, has said media coverage on the NUT survey of inclusion has fundamentally misinterpreted its findings. Writing in the editorial of the SEN Magazine, she says that on close inspection the report reveals there is no conclusion that inclusive education cannot work, although it isn’t working at present due to a critical lack of investment in resources, training, and specialist expertise. She describes talk of the ‘damage’ that inclusion can cause as ‘finding a soft target to blame for society’s shameful treatment of disabled children’. According to Louise High: ‘If we could bring together the right combination of personal support, with a curriculum focussed on achievement rather than academic attainment, while supporting disabled young people to be part of their community – we might achieve a system that is fair for disabled and non-disabled people. I am not saying inclusion is easy; it isn’t. Nor am I saying that it can happen immediately. But we must set out to achieve it in a realistic way, planning and developing the real resources it will take to make it work.’
SEN Magazine, July 1, 2006

Many of the 1.5 million children in England with special education needs are being failed by a system which is ‘not fit for purpose’, MPs warned today. The House of Commons Education Select Committee criticised ministers for sending ‘confused’ messages over how to teach pupils with special needs. As a result of this confusion, councils are reportedly closing special schools leaving children and their parents’ frustrated and depressed, the committee said. And the MPs condemned top state schools for refusing to teach children with special needs in an attempt to boost their position in the league tables. The report found there was a ‘postcode lottery’ for parents trying to find the best school for children with learning difficulties. ‘The special educational needs system is demonstrably no longer fit for purpose’, the select committee said. ‘There is a need to develop a new system that puts the needs of the child at the centre of provision.’
Evening News Norwich, July 6, 2006

A massive overhaul of provision for youngsters with special educational needs has been unveiled by county council education chiefs. From August next year all units in Cheshire’s primary schools for pupils with special educational needs will be shut, and all secondary school departments offering assistance for those with moderate learning difficulties and emotional and behavioural difficulties will be closed down. In their place will be a streamlined alternative, offering special needs units in each locality rather than at a number of different venues. For pupils with statements of special educational needs or living with an impairment there will be more limited options. Eight primary schools will provide education for children with autism and another eight schools will be lined up to host units for youngsters with emotional and behaviour difficulties. Meanwhile three primary schools will have resources to teach those with severe and profound hearing impairment. And a further 22 junior and infant schools will be identified for pupils with a spectrum of special needs. Plans are being made for three secondary schools to take pupils with autism, and one central secondary school will teach hearing impaired pupils. Each secondary school will be given funding to create and an ‘inclusion resource centre’.
Community News, Macclesfield, July 6, 2006

Hexham Priory School has gained national recognition for its work integrating pupils with severe learning difficulties into mainstream schools. It has now been awarded the Leading Aspect Award by the Department for Education for its inclusion programme. Priory has developed a partnership with mainstream schools in the district designed to enrich the lives of its pupils. Of its 53 pupils, 17 are dual registered, usually with their local mainstream school. A report posted on the Leading Aspect Award’s website says: ‘The inclusion programme enables youngsters to find and develop their strengths in mainstream settings, enhance their life skills and extend their social contacts …The programme benefits the participating schools by enabling mainstream schools to have greater access to resources, expertise and training for staff in managing their own children who may exhibit some degree of learning difficulty or disability’.
Hexham Courant (Web), July 6, 2006

There will be no U-turns, it seems, at Scope. The disability charity will push ahead with the controversial reforms and financial recovery plans set in train by former chief executive, Tony Manwaring, who resigned last month. Jon Sparkes, acting chief executive, will be in charge for the next 18 months to carry forward the agenda set by Manwaring. Sparkes says Scope’s trustees have given him ‘every support’ in driving forward Manwaring’s reforms, moving Scope away from institutional care provision and pushing for disabled people to go into mainstream education and accommodation.
The Guardian, July 12, 2006