It was year of progress for inclusion as Government made more money available for improving access to mainstream schools and local education authorities (LEAs) moved ahead with special needs restructuring plans. More separate special schools were scheduled for closure but Government remained adamant that there was still an important role for segregated schooling. This contradictory Government position of supporting both inclusion and segregation meant some LEAS found themselves in the confusing situation of defending their special school closure plans as national policy against parents who complained they were not getting the choice of settings promised by the Government.
A highlight in the year was Manchester LEA’s plans to close six special schools and move pupils to mainstream which went ahead despite a battle by parents to keep them open. A young people’s scrutiny committee in Manchester, which is among the highest segregating authorities in UK, will monitor schools during the closure programme. In a foretaste of things to come, young people from special schools joined pupils from mainstream schools for the spectacular July opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games hosted by the city.
In Wolverhampton teachers as well as pupils became the focus for inclusion efforts when councilors drew attention to the levels of recruitment for disabled people among teaching staff.
Other authorities recognised for their efforts towards inclusion during the year included Kent, Rochdale, Buckinghamshire, Gloucestershire, North Tyneside, Haringey, Worcestershire, Poole, Lancashire, Devon, Cumbria, Staffordshire, Rotherham, Liverpool, and Shropshire. In general, the publicity was positive although many authorities had to deal with doubts by concerned parents about special school closures. Only one LEA, Staffordshire, was reported to have been criticised by OFSTED for having an unsatisfactory inclusion policy and this was being updated by the end of the year.
A different picture emerged in an analysis by Times Educational Supplement writer, Nicholas Pyke, who reported that inclusion appeared to be coming to a halt and could go into reverse. He said children with moderate impairments continued to move out of special schools but their places were being taken by rising numbers of pupils with behaviour problems.
Mainstream developments
The year brought many inspiring examples of efforts in mainstream schools to foster inclusion and in November CSIE highlighted good practice by organising an Inclusion Week However, the number of children excluded on disciplinary grounds increased.
Statistics released in May showed that the number of children expelled from school had risen for the first time since Labour came to power. Permanent exclusions in primary schools went up by nearly a fifth and there was ten per cent. rise for older pupils. The Department for Education was said to be relaxed about the development because the expansion of pupil referral units for difficult pupils meant that excluded pupils were no longer ‘left to roam the streets’.
Earlier, teachers at their union conferences called for new powers to identify potentially violent pupils and for a new offence of attacking a public service worker. Disability Rights campaigners said the move would give headteachers a veto on admitting any pupil with behaviour problems or disabilities.
An innovative scheme was introduced in four Westminster, London, schools in July with the aim of tackling truancy, street crime and the number of youngsters excluded from schools. Teams including learning mentors, education welfare officers and police officers were made available to work with ‘at risk’ youngsters.
As part of 2002 Autism Awareness Year staff of a school’s unit for autistic children pledged that their main aim was to integrate the youngsters into mainstream classes. Staff in the school had received training and pupils were due to have assemblies and discussions aimed at befriending their counterparts in the unit and reducing their reliance on teachers.
Elsewhere pupils experienced what it’s like to have a physical impairment by using a wheelchair for a day and others learned sign language.
There were also moves in Oxfordshire for a purpose-built school with classrooms for mainstream children and children with learning disabilities; for an education centre in Bristol which encourages special school and mainstream pupils to study together; and for a co-location scheme in Birmingham to locate a special school and a primary school on one site.
A major study of the impact of inclusion in Scotland found problems concerning lack of teacher training and pupils needs not being met. The study led to calls for more funding to address ‘the gap between a laudable ideology and the practical requirements of implementing it’. David Hartley, President of the Association of Teachers of the Deaf, called for changes in funding after he claimed devolving money from LEAs directly to schools had led to substantial reductions in funds available for specialist staff and equipment.
Legislative moves
The new disability discrimination legislation was introduced in September making it illegal for schools to discriminate against disabled pupils by treating them less favourably and by failing to make reasonable adjustments. Schools and LEAS were also required to progressively improve access to the curriculum and physical environment through new planning duties.
Family struggles and successes
Parents and families continued to struggle to improve inadequate mainstream support and looked to the new disability discrimination legislation to help them.
There were also concerns about bullying. One pupil, who was bullied, was offered home tuition but his mother pressed officials to find him a mainstream place because she said he needed to be with other children and learn social skills. Another disabled pupil was reported to have been forced to move back to residential special schooling because of the problem. His mother welcomed plans to set up antisocial behaviour units for bullies which, she claimed, would address the underlying reasons leading to pupils to taunt their classmates. Meanwhile, the situation of a boy who had been without schooling for four years after being rejected by a mainstream school, a special centre, and a special school was described as ‘completely unacceptable’ by his solictor.
Parents behind the setting up of the Special Schools Protection League in Gloucestershire said children with learning difficulties were threatening to take their own lives rather than go to school. They made the claim as they re-launched the organisation as a national body to co-ordinate the various campaigns against special school closures taking place around the country.
On a more positive note, Danielle Griffiths, a 16-year-old disabled pupil, was awarded a Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Award for her outstanding contribution to school life; Angela McDonagh, education officer for the North Wales Deaf Associaton, was commended for her work with deaf pupils; and Sharron Hardman, a disabled teacher, was honoured with an MBE after being recommended by a group of parents. Ms. Hardman, 48, said that the award indicated to pupils that anything was possible. She added: ‘I strongly believe in inclusive education’.
Comments and criticisms
During the year the Disability Rights Commission kept awareness of disability issues high by publicising the key findings of surveys and reports.
These revealed that most people believed disabled children should be educated in mainstream schools and that there had been a 50 percent increase in the number of discrimination cases backed by the Commission, including discrimination in education. It was also discovered that many disabled teenagers were discouraged by their teachers from taking GCSEs.
There were also warnings that some schools were not prepared for the extension of the Disability Discrimination Act to cover education. Eamonn O’Kane, general secretary of the National Association of Schoolmasters and Union of Women Teachers said putting disabled children in normal classes was the right thing to do. However, schools needed the resources to adapt buildings and take on specialist staff.
The National Autistic Society announced that one in five autistic children were excluded from school, 20 times the national average. The Society said that under the new discrimination legislation, schools would have to think twice before excluding a pupil with recognised autism.
As part of Inclusion Week in November, CSIE issued a new report on trends in inclusion and exclusion. Mark Vaughan, founder of CSIE, called on Government to take a firmer lead to force the higher segregating authorities to develop inclusion policies. He said it was ‘unfair and unjust’ that moves towards inclusion had been so slow and that a ‘huge shift in culture’ was needed to ensure that all children could be educated in mainstream schools.
As the year came to a close, a major report from the Audit Commission found that provision for disabled children in mainstream schools was patchy and too often treated as an ‘add-on’. It also reported that some schools were reluctant to admit children experiencing difficulties because of the impact on examination league tables. A Government spokesman said it was considering ‘ways of recognising the wider achievements of schools in catering for a diverse range of pupils’
