Revised plans to build two special schools in Grays,Thurrock, have been revealed. Under new proposals put forward by Thurrock Council, the Treetops and Beacon Hill Special Schools will be built on the existing Gateway Community College Site, on Buxton Road. The Council’s education department has hastily put together the plans after councillors vetoed their original proposals which would have seen the two schools built on greenbelt land next to the Gateway’s north site.
Thurrock Gazette, December 2, 2005
A head teacher has launched a stinging attack on the Government’s policy of sending special needs pupils to mainstream schools. Paul Whelan, head teacher of Cedar Hall School, Thundersley, spoke out after the school’s financial plight was raised in the House of Commons. Mr. Whelan revealed that most children now joining the school were aged about ten years old and had endured years of unhappiness at a mainstream school under the Government’s inclusion policy. He claims that before joining Cedar Hall his pupils had been bullied by their peers for operating at a level younger than others in the class, shunned by classmates for not fitting in, forced into disruptive behaviour out of frustration and left with little confidence or self-esteem. He said parents should be offered choice, including a special needs school. ‘There is no reason why a child who starts at a special school couldn’t later go to mainstream school, but they should not have to suffer in mainstream first.’
Basildon Echo, December 6, 2005
Special needs children are to be moved into mainstream schooling in a massive education shake-up in Liverpool. Councillors today started the process which could see big changes for Ashfield School in Childwall, Meadow Bank in Fazakeley, and Mersey View in Aigburth. The decision follows falling attendance at special schools which the Council says will lead to financial problems and affect standards. It claims facilities in mainstream can deliver a better curriculum. An Ofsted inspection in 1999 recommended a reduction of special schools places in Liverpool but many parents are against the plan.
Liverpool Echo, December 9, 2005
The Observer Newspaper has discovered that children with statements of special educational needs are nine times more likely to be excluded from school than those without statements. Pupils as young as five are regularly sent home for up to 45 days. The Commons Education and Skills Select Committee is investigating provision for children with special needs in schools, focusing on whether they should be taught in mainstream or in special schools. But it has so far failed to address the scandal of exclusions affecting tens of thousands of children a year. Recent figures show two thirds of permanent exclusions involve children with special needs. Information gathered by the Independent Panel for Special Educational Needs (Ipsea) reveals that while exclusions of pupils without special needs have fallen by 579 in the past year, exclusions of those with special needs have risen by 334, 6 per cent.
Observer, December 11, 2005
A charity that campaigns for disability rights has been criticised for failing to meet basic standards of care for disabled students at one of its colleges. Ofsted inspectors said Scope which supports people with cerebral palsy had been too slow to make Beaumont College properly accessible to 78 disabled students. The residential college in Lancaster for 16 to 25-year-olds which aims to help disabled people become independent does not meet the national care standards or Special Educational Needs Disability Act legal requirements. Scope spokesman, Barry Hugill, denied the charity had forfeited the moral authority to criticise others for failing disabled people. He said: ‘It’s a standard Seventies building with all the problems you get with that. It’s not just us. Half the schools and colleges in the country are like this. You don’t get changes overnight.’ Leadership of the college was rated inadequate but Mr. Hugill said a new principal will turn it around . ‘There will not be another report like this,’ he said.
Times Educational Supplement, December 16, 2005
Five special schools are facing the axe in another radical shake-up of education in South Tyneside. Council chiefs agreed plans to close all but one of the borough’s special schools at a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday. Parents, teachers, governors and staff will have their say on the plans with a statutory consultation period running until March. A new system will be developed to support children through mainstream education. Kathy Rist, from Contact A Family, which represents the needs of families with disabled children in the region said: ‘The Government is pushing for inclusion. It is telling local authorities to include children with disabilities in mainstream education but it can not be done overnight. We argue it must be a carefully thought out process with constant parental consultation so they understand what is being offered to their children in terms of realistic educational outcomes.’
Shields Gazette, December 16, 2005
