When James Cope was two years old consultants told his parents that he would never be able to walk, talk or do anything because of his severe disabilities. Born in 1983 with cerebral palsy, James has now proved them all wrong. He has passed all nine of his GCSEs — a notable achievement for any 16-year-old. James, who attended St David’s High School, Wrexham, said it felt good to show people what he was capable of. His father Tony said: ‘It’s great that after all that hard work, James has now got his GCSEs. He didn’t have to prove anything to me or his mum — we’d have been proud whatever he got — but he has done really well. When we went to St. David’s to see the head teacher, Geoff Rate, about James attending a mainstream school he simply said that St. David’s was a community school and James was a member of the community like anyone else. The school has been brilliant’.
Wrexham Mail, September 2, 1999.

The celebrations have been short-lived at Barbara Priestman School, Sunderland, following the Government’s decision to throw out Sunderland Council’s plans to close it. Numbers are continuing to fall and governors accuse the council of discouraging parents from sending their children to the school. The council denies such action saying that the fall in numbers was the reason it began its review of the school’s future in the first place.
Sunderland Echo, September 3, 1999.

A disabled pupil has been told to stay away from her new secondary school because it cannot cope with her special needs. Zahrah Manuel, who has cerebral palsy, was due to start at Whitefield School in Barnet last week. But the school claims that the 12-year-old would be a health and safety risk because staff have not been trained to deal with her disabilities. School bosses are now appealing to the Education Secretary, David Blunkett, to allow them to legally refuse her a place on the grounds that she is too severely disabled to teach. Zarah attended a mainstream primary school in West Hampstead but was turned down for her local secondary school because it was not wheelchair accessible. Her parents opted for Whitefield because it was the nearest wheelchair-accessible school to their home. Her mother Preethi, who has campaigned for a mainstream education for Zarah since she was four said: ‘I have had to break the news to my daughter that she has nowhere to go to school. The first day of secondary school is a marker day in any child’s life and she has missed it’.
Hampstead and Highgate Express, September 10, 1999.

People with a view on how children with special educational needs should be taught in Gloucestershire are to have their say at a series of special meetings. Gloucestershire County Council has organised the interactive public workshops to find out what people think about its SEN proposals. They will take into account opinions gathered from parents, teachers and governors during six public meetings across the county during September and October. County Councillors will be considering the proposals at an education committee meeting on November 15.
Stroud News and Journal, September 15, 1999.

Scope, the charity for people with cerebral palsy, is calling on Essex Council to urgently reverse plans to close a specialist unit attended by disabled children with physical and neurological impairments at the mainstream Maunds Wood School in Harlow. The charity believes the move will seriously affect the children because the Council plan to relocate them in mainstream schools which are not fully accessible and do not have sufficient specialist support. Dissatisfaction with the Council’s provision for special educational needs is also reflected in the number of appeals against the Council to SEN tribunals which reached 103 in 1998, one of the highest in the country. Scope is also concerned at reports that the Council is refusing to issue statutory statements to some children.
Disabled and Supportive Carer, September 1999.

Due to the efforts of Newtown First School’s Assessment Centre, seven-year-old Conor McMillan, who is autistic, can now attend mainstream classes. His mother Kathy paid tribute to the Centre: ‘Newtown were brilliant. He started in the special language unit and gradually began to communicate through signs. He has become more aware of people around him now which is a problem many autistic children face’. At Newtown’s Assessment Centre children stay in small groups for a few terms and are gradually integrated with other members of the school.
Exeter Leader, September 16, 1999.

For some children returning to school after the summer break is a big dread, but for pupils with dyslexia that dread can turn into a phobia. With that in mind, the British Dyslexia Association has launched its Back to School Campaign which aims to show the parents of dyslexic children what they can do to help make classrooms friendlier places. BDA chief executive, Joanne Rule, said: ‘We want to make parents feel more confident that they can help dyslexic children and take the fear out of school. Without the right help dyslexic children can become school phobic. Headteachers can contact us for a resource pack on making the whole school dyslexia friendly’.
Newcastle Upon Tyne Evening Chronicle, September 17, 1999.

A public meeting is to be held in Hampton to discuss future plans for Oldfield House School, which caters for children with behavioural problems. Richmond Council’s education department is considering reducing the service at the Hampton school and introducing children with emotional and behavioural problems into mainstream education. The department has carried out a wide-ranging consultation over the summer, seeking the views of parents and primary schools in the borough on the proposal. Parents with children at Oldfield House have expressed concern at the LEAs’ plans and residents are worried over the potential development of the site.
Richmond Comet, September 24, 1999.

A secondary school in Fishponds is poised to become Bristol’s first mainstream school to cater for older children with severe learning difficulties. Councillors were deciding whether Whitefield Fishponds Community School will admit special needs pupils aged from 11 to 18. The school will take in pupils from Briarwood special school in Fishponds, New Fosseway special school in Hengrove, and Henbury Manor School in Henbury which is due to close next summer. Teachers at Briarwood and New Fosseway School will transfer to Whitefield Fishponds. Some children will be taught in a specialist unit in Whitefield Fishponds and others may be taught in mainstream classes according to their needs.
Bristol Evening Post, September 30, 1999