Government inspectors have said that a Workington school’s disability facilities are very good. Ashfield Junior School’s learning difficulties and disability facilities were inspected by Ofsted which said they had many outstanding features. Inspector, Michael McDowell said pupils made good progress and achieved well in relation to their capabilities. The provision for pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities was exceptional, as were the school’s links with other organisations. Headteacher Sam Kidd said: ‘It’s something that we as the whole school, staff and governing body, have worked on over the last few years. We are particularly pleased with the way it said all children have improved and that it did not just focus on the academic school life but the all-round developments of the children.’
Workington Times and Star, January 13, 2006

High Court judges will rule in a dispute over whether a child with a disability should have been excluded from a Westcliff school on several occasions. His parents, David and Lauren, said the school should not have excluded their son because his behaviour was caused by his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder. The school said his behaviour on those occasions had nothing to do with his disorder, so they still had the right to exclude him. Schools are not allowed to exclude someone because of his or her disability. A tribunal ruled in the parents’ favour but the school has appealed against the decision. The case, which is supported by the Disability Rights Commission, will now come before the High Court in the coming months.
Basildon Echo, January 19, 2006

The headteacher of a school that supports children with learning difficulties has praised education chiefs who are backing plans to relocate to a mainstream high school. Suffolk County Council’s Cabinet will decide next month whether to give the green light to public consultations on moving Thomas Wolsey in Old Norwich Road, Ipswich, to Thurleston High School, which is less than a mile away in Defoe Road. The plan is to develop a state of the art building on the same site as Thurleston and if no objections are raised the school will open in September with the old Thomas Wolsey building being sold. Nancy McArdle, headteacher at Thomas Wolsey, which currently has 93 pupils aged three to 19 who have complex physical needs said: ‘It is a fantastic opportunity and would be the fulfilment of a 30-year-dream. I have always felt there would be so many more possibilities for our young people if they has closer links with mainstream.’
East Anglian Daily Times, January 27, 2006

Teacher Janet Daley this week warned she would not be silenced by education chiefs over her concern for the plight of West Somerset’s special needs youngster following a decision to close units dedicated to their needs. Somerset County Council’s executive board has controversially decided that resources bases at Minehead First and Minehead Middle Schools, at the West Somerset Community College, Kingsmead Community School and two others in Taunton and Wellington will be axed by April 2008. Mrs. Daley, who has run the Minehead First Unit for the past four years and has received widespread acclaim for its achievements, described the move as short-sighted and wrong. However Cllr Gloria Cawood, the county’s portfolio holder for education, said the closure of the units would mean that children with special educational needs across the whole of Somerset would receive funding in the same way, irrespective of where they lived. The funding would be allocated on the basis of individual evidence and audited need.
West Somerset Free Press, January 27, 2006

A party was being held today to celebrate the success of a scheme enabling children with severe learning difficulties and disabilities to attend mainstream children’s centres. Over the past three years, more than 30 children have made the move through a partnership between Leeds City Council’s Early Years Service and Education Leeds.
Yorkshire Evening Post, January 27, 2006