An education pack produced by the Down’s Syndrome Association has won a national award. The pack was named winner of the Books for Learning and Teaching award at the NASEN national conference. The ‘Education Support Pack for Mainstream Schools’ provides practical advice for teachers in schools which include pupils with Down’s syndrome. Copies are available from the DSA (£15 inc. p&p) or can be downloaded from the DSA’s web site.
Child Education, January 1, 2004
A northern school which provides a lifeline for deaf and disabled children is being threatened with closure because of Government policy. Northern Counties School in Newcastle says it will close in 18 months because the Government wants disabled children placed in mainstream schools. The Jesmond School, more than 150 years old, has a national reputation for teaching children with hearing and other disabilities. But pupil numbers are falling as more children go to mainstream schools and staff say the school will no longer be viable if the decline continues. A decision on its future will be made in two months, giving families 18 months to find alternative facilities for their children.
The Journal, Newcastle on Tyne, January 7, 2004
Education bosses today said there was no threat to Sunderland’s special needs schools because of Government policy on inclusion. The Government wants disabled youngsters to enter mainstream education where possible. The nationally renowned Northern Counties School in Newcastle this week announced it could close in 18 months as more children enter mainstream. But Sunderland Local Education Authority said none of its special schools are in danger. Special educational needs manager, Pat Glass, said: ‘Sunderland LEA supports the present Government’s educational policy, which is not about closing special schools. It is about including children wherever possible within local mainstream schools and enhancing and strengthening the role of special schools to support those children attending mainstream, their teachers and their schools. There is no threat to special schools in Sunderland which are excellent. But their role is changing and while some children will continue to require full-time attendance at a special school, many more will in future be able to attend their local mainstream school for some or all of the time, if this is what their parents want’. She said families at Northern Counties School would be invited to meet the LEA to discuss their children’s future.
Sunderland Echo, January 9, 2004
A mother has hit out against proposals to close a school for children with learning difficulties because of the effect it would have on the pupils. The Leas School in Clacton caters for about 100 students but its future is in doubt because it could be merged with the near-by Windsor School. Under current proposals the school could close in August next year and consultations between the school’s governing body and parents and Essex County Council are on-going. Essex Local Education Authority said the building would be kept open for primary school children. Parents with children at the Leas would be given the option of going to nearby Windsor School or opting for mainstream education at the town’s new secondary school, Bishop’s Park College. Windsor School would change its status from being a school for children with severe learning difficulties to what is being termed a ‘new model’ school. County officials say the change would improve services offered by both Leas and Windsor Schools. But the Leas Parents Action Group has been launched and is campaigning to keep the school open. Ann Conroy, who has two children with learning difficulties, said they would not be provided with the social training in mainstream which is provided by the special school.
East Anglian Daily Times (Essex edition), January 21, 2004
The Labour Group at County Hall in Chelmsford has said it’s ‘appalled’ at the closure plans for Leas School and has ‘called-in’ the decision, meaning it will have to be scrutinized by the council’s audit and scrutiny committee before it can proceed. However, Iris Pummel, the cabinet member for education at Essex County Council, said the move was backed by Leas’ headteacher. She said the school would effectively be moved to the site of the new Bishop’s Park building with access to mainstream education. Bishop’s Park would have a central core and corridors off it. Units of the Leas School would go on the end of each part. If they were able the children would, on occasion, be able to join the mainstream lessons. She said it was important that children who were not suitable for mainstream education were not forced into it.
East Anglian Daily Times (Essex edition), January 22, 2004
The Government’s latest plans for special needs education will perpetuate prejudice and discrimination against disabled people according to the Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education (CSIE), an independent education charity. The national Centre says that plans to retain separate special schools indefinitely for some pupils works against the long-term interests of disabled people. The Government’s plans are contained in its new strategy document ‘Removing Barriers to Achievement’ launched by the Department for Education and Skills. ‘Segregated schooling does not lead to inclusion. It perpetuates discrimination, devaluation, stigmatization, stereotyping, prejudice and isolation’, said a CSIE spokesman.’ Disabled adults identify these conditions as the biggest barriers to respect, participation and a rewarding life in mainstream society’. A DfES spokesman said it was committed to developing more inclusive education and where parents wanted a mainstream setting for their child, schools and LEAs must try and provide it. However, where more specialist provision was sought it was important that parents’ wishes were listened and taken into account.
Yorkshire Evening Post (Leeds edition), January 22, 2004
High expectations, attention to teacher training and after-school homework classes are behind the success of one of the country’s top-performing special schools. Laleham School near Margate, Kent, which caters for pupils with severe dyslexia and other speech and language difficulties, has pulled off a rare double, coming in the top 25 for value-added at key stages and GCSEs. Its performance at KS3 gave it the highest value-added of any school with 30 or more pupils sitting tests. All 31Laleham pupils were exempted from KS3 English tests because of their difficulties, so the scores are based on maths and science alone.
Times Educational Supplement. January 23, 2004
Reform of league tables will be part of a drive to boost achievements of children with special needs, Charles Clarke will announce next month. The Education Secretary fears league tables are hampering inclusion by discouraging schools from taking pupil with special needs and that they are seen as peripheral in too many schools. He hopes that focusing on such pupils can boost national literacy and numeracy scores and GCSE results. A consultation later this year will suggest that value-added tables should be changed to reflect the progress of pupils even if they fail to reach the expected test levels. Tables for school-leavers may also be expanded to include lower-level qualifications in an effort to recognise the achievement of pupils with special needs. The strategy is the most determined attempt yet by the Government to make special needs part of mainstream. It follows criticism of the Government’s approach by the Audit Commission, the public spending watchdog. Currently, only one in seven pupils with special needs and one in 20 with statements gets five Cs or better at GCSE.
Times Educational Supplement, January 23, 2004
An East Lancashire headteacher today rejected claims that special needs schools were bad for disabled children and said: ‘We are not separatist’. Bob Whittaker, head of Northcliffe school in Great Harwood, spoke out after a leading charity said Government plans to back specialist institutions would lead to discrimination. The Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education has warned that keeping special needs schools under the Government’s new strategy will increase prejudice. But the headteacher criticized the findings of the independent education charity and said he wanted to save specialist schools in East Lancashire. He believes special schools already enjoy healthy levels of integration with mainstream schools but argues that special schools are still needed to help pupils with difficulties.
Lancashire Evening Telegraph (Blackburn), January 26, 2004
