An education think tank has attacked the Government over its failure to take a tougher line with local education authorities that place a high number of disabled children in special schools. Mark Vaughan, founder of the Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education, has called on the Government to take a ‘firmer lead to force the higher segregating authorities to develop stronger inclusion policies’ after research revealed wide policy variations between the regions. The Centre’s report LEA Inclusion Trends 1997-2001, published last week to mark National Inclusion Week, 2002, shows that although the overall number of pupils in special schools fell from 88,000 to 86,000 between 1997 and 2001, there are huge variations around the country. Vaughan 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.
Community Care, November 14, 2002.

Leading councilors have backed moves to ensure that most Shropshire youngsters with special educational needs are taught in mainstream schools. The County Council supported an updated special education policy. The move has to be approved by the full Council. A report said the revised policy reinforced Shropshire’s commitment to an inclusive education policy. However, a specialist environment would still be required for a small number of children with exceptional needs.
Shropshire Star, November 6, 2002.

A network of parents and teachers is being established to investigate how best to educate children with disabilities in mainstream schools. The Inclusive Learning Network (ILN) is being set up by the Equity Group, a Scotland-wide voluntary organisation. The 15-months project begins in January, bringing together at least one parent and teacher from each of six local authorities to build up a bank of knowledge and practical solutions for Scottish schools.
The Scotsman, November 13, 2002.

A unique £2million education centre which encourages special school and mainstream pupils to study together was opened yesterday. The Briarfield Centre has been built on the same site as Whitefield Fishponds Community School. It will give disabled pupils with severe learning difficulties from Briarwood Special School the chance to continue their studies. But they will also enjoy the wider range of opportunities from mainstream lessons. Funding for the new Centre came from the Department for Education and Skills. Bristol Council provided an extra £110,000 for a multi-sensory room and hydrotherapy pool which can be used by pupils and public.
Western Daily Press (Bristol), November 16, 2002.

A disability charity has condemned Alnwick’s high school for denying a 12-year-old boy a place at the school. Scope has championed the plight of Craig McCarthy, who has cerebral palsy, and has been denied a place at the Duchess’s High School because of lack of wheelchair access. Caroline Cooke, a policy and research officer at Scope, said: ‘We would want to ask the school whether they are aware of the duties which make it unlawful to discriminate against disabled pupils in admissions as well as in the provision of education. Scope believes that Craig should be able to attend his local secondary school in Alnwick alongside his friends who will be going there. The Disabilities Act 2002 came into force in September and sets a duty on schools and local education authorities to plan to increase access. The charity says this is an anticipatory duty which means that schools should not wait until they need to make specific changes to meet the needs of an individual child.
Northumberland Gazette, November 21, 2002.

Scotland’s disabled rights watchdog launched a massive brainstorming session at Stirling University to combat discrimination. The conference, called Beyond The Ramp: Developing Accessibility Strategies in Scotland, is organised by the Disability Rights Commission. It has attracted parents, headteachers and representatives from every local authority in Scotland. DRC Scotland director, Bob Benson, said: ‘These conferences are aimed at ensuring that thinking about disability access goes beyond the provision of ramps. ‘The fact that every single local authority in Scotland has signed up to one of these events shows that there is a real commitment to improving educational opportunities for disabled people and signals a real climate of change’.
Stirling Observer, November 27, 2002.

Staff at a Burton special school are ‘horrified’ at new council plans to put pupils with learning difficulties into mainstream schools. Staffordshire County Council education bosses claim the move would reduce discrimination and improve education standards. However, staff at Streton Brook School believe the policy could ruin some youngsters’ education and jeopardise the future of the school. The county’s Local Education Authority (LEA) has put forward proposals after a Government inspection slammed it for failing to provide an ‘inclusive’ education system.
Burton Mail, November 29, 2002.

Campaigners fighting to save special schools in Gloucestershire have launched a campaign to safeguard others across the country. The Gloucestershire Special Schools Protection League wants the Government to set up a national organisation to protect similar schools elsewhere. It wants to add weight and a national voice to the campaign, set up in 1998, to save five special schools which Gloucestershire County Council planned to close by 2003, before doing a near U-turn. The GSSP is compiling a list of individuals and organisations concerned about the future of schools for children with learning difficulties, behavioural and emotional problems throughout the UK. It will then present the list to Education Secretary, Charles Clarke, in the hope it will spark the Government into setting up a forum to counterbalance the views of organisations like the Centre For Studies on Inclusive Education which believes special school pupils should be integrated into mainstream education.
Gloucestershire Echo, November 30, 2002.

The Government’s inclusion agenda for children with special needs has been called into question by the Audit Commission which found that mainstream schools lacked the resources to support them. One in five children is considered by their schools to have disabilities or conditions that mean they need special attention. But the Commission found provision for them was patchy and too often treated as an ‘add-on’. It also reported that some schools were reluctant to admit children experiencing difficulties. Sir Andrew Foster, the commission’s controller, said some schools were reluctant to admit children who were unlikely to pass exams because of the way the Government calculates its performance tables. A spokesman for the Department for Education and Skills said it was looking at the format of its performance tables and considering ‘ways of recognising the wider achievements of schools in catering for a diverse range of pupils’.
Daily Telegraph, November 30, 2002.