An 11-year-old disabled girl is being taught at home for a year because of a setback to her dream of joining her chums at a Wolverhampton School. St Edmunds RC School needs to make adaptations estimated at £125,000 so that Becky Raymond-Barker can get there in her wheelchair. But the main gas pipe for the school will have to be moved because it runs under the spot where a lift needs to be installed for Becky. The work will take several weeks during which time the gas supply would be cut off. The only time possible to carry out the work seemed to be during the summer holidays next year. In the meantime the school is supplying class work to Becky who is being supervised at home by her mother.
Wolverhampton Express and Star, December 2, 1998.

Scotland’s Education Minister, Helen Liddell, has announced a £7 million pot of money and 10 measures aimed at standardising and improving special needs education services. Based on testimony from more than 300 individuals and groups, the plan includes a new national advice service for families and a good practice manual for schools and other professionals. Advocacy groups, parents and researchers have welcomed the proposals, praising the Scottish office for its emphasis on including parents and children in decision making and tailoring services and training to local needs.
The Scotsman, December 9, 1998.

After winning a long drawn out battle to be enrolled in a mainstream state school, Gemma Nash vowed back then to fight for the disabled peoples’ corner. Miss Nash, 25, was sent to a special needs school until the age of 12 when she eventually managed to persuade her local authority that she should be treated like any other child. Thirteen years on she is a politics graduate from Birmingham University and an active campaigner for disabled people’s rights. And she has now taken up a key position as their champion at Dial House, Hamilton Place, Chester, to represent city people suffering discrimination. Miss Nash said: ‘I think it is crucial that a disabled person represents disabled people. I know better than anybody else what it is like to face discrimination every single day of your life.’
Evening Leader, Chester, December 7, 1998.