To celebrate its 20th anniversary, the Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education is organising Inclusion Week from November 11–15. It is encouraging schools to hold events that highlight good practice in responding to diversity and resisting exclusion.
Child Education, June 1, 2002.

Two Whitby Schools are to be given over £100,000 to improve access and facilities for disabled pupils. The funding is part of a £2 million programme of improvements for 54 schools across the North Yorkshire region as part of the Schools Access Initiative. Airy Hill School is to receive £21,700 which it will spend on a new toilet and shower. The other beneficiary is Whitby Community College which is to receive £87,250 for a new lift and ramp.
Driffield Times, June 5, 2002.

Work had become to integrate deaf children in Birmingham into a mainstream school. Hodge Hill will link up permanently with Braidwood School. The £3.5 million scheme, which is now underway, will see Braidwood move from its current location to the Hodge Hill site. Some of the funding will also be used to modify existing buildings to make them accessible to wheelchair users. To help communications children at Hodge Hill have been learning sign language.
Birmingham Evening Mail, June 6, 2002.

The future of special schools was thrown into confusion for parents when they heard that a key school was being shut down for good. But Worcestershire County Council’s closure of Cliffey House School in Hanley Castle, is paving the way for a new inclusive education system. The Council’s cabinet last week agreed to approve the special educational needs policy. Parents of children with SEN are being told to rest easy. Ruth Chiva, head of school services at Worcestershire Council says inclusive education will mean better education. The plans are in response to Government legislation which prescribes that children should not be separated from their peers.
Worcester Evening News, June 11, 2002.

A hi-tech access bus designed to help disabled people who want to study Open University courses is touring the country. The £100,000 mobile assessment unit was launched by Maria Eagle, MP, Minister for Disabled People, at the OU’s Milton Keynes HQ last November. Since then it has been on the road visiting potential students at their own homes to assess what specialist educational technologies they will need to enable them to study at the OU.
KM Extra (Canterbury), June 14, 2002.

Inspirational schoolteacher, Sharron Hardman, has been honoured with an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours. Miss Hardman, 48, is a special needs teacher at Gorsefield County Primary in Radcliffe. Her name was put forward by a group of grateful parents. She has suffered from scoliosis — curvature of the spine – since she was ten years old and it is partly because of her own disability that she has so much empathy with her pupils. Miss Hardman said: ‘I’m really pleased that the MBE will convey to them that anything is possible. I strongly believe in inclusive education.’
Radcliffe Times, June 20, 2002.

Leicester Schools are to be offered up to £150,000 to admit more children with special needs and teach them alongside other pupils. City education leaders want to create a vanguard of primary and secondary schools with extra staff and resources that will spearhead teaching special needs children in mainstream classes. They want to encourage special schools to forge partnerships with mainstream schools to create more opportunities for special needs pupils to learn and mix with other pupils. The plans are part of a review of special education which aims to give all special needs children the chance to be taught in a mainstream school close to home.
‘This is Leicestershire’, June 17, 2002.

Manchester education chiefs have earmarked six primary and secondary special schools for closure as part of a city-wide review of the provision for children with special educational needs, aimed at placing more of them in mainstream schools. Alongside the school closures the authority says it will open a new secondary school for children with moderate learning difficulties; improve resourcing, training and support in mainstream classrooms; set up learning support centres and establish a kite mark of good practice. Campaigners fighting against the proposals fear their children will be marginalised. But education bosses point to mainstream schools in the city that are already supporting children with special needs and the increasing numbers of parents who are asking for their children to be taught in local schools, rather than being bussed across the city.
Manchester Evening News, June 19, 2002.

A special school for children with behaviour problems has been closed following lack of support from teachers and parents. Now Haringey Council, London, plans to set up three units for different age groups of pupils experiencing behaviour difficulties. This represents a move towards trying to get the children back into mainstream education. Greenfields School was placed in special measures by Ofsted after problems with violent behaviour by pupils. It was removed from special measures after inspectors deemed that the situation had improved significantly. But teachers struggled to cope with an influx of new pupils and it shut for an indefinite period in October after three most senior members of staff signed off sick.
Haringey Advertiser, June 26, 2002.