Minority ethnic children look set to lose under Government plans to reduce teachers’ workloads. Increasing numbers of schools believe the only way they can implement the workload agreement is to redeploy teachers funded through a programme to improve the attainment of ethnic minority pupils. The workload agreement which comes into force in September will place a legal requirement on heads to give teachers half a day a week out of the classroom for preparation, planning and assessment. Many heads have already said they cannot afford support staff to cover for teachers and may have to send children home to avoid breaking the law. Now it has emerged that other heads plan to redeploy the ethnic minority programme teachers to provide cover.
Children Now, May 11, 2005

The announcement of 660 new special needs teaching posts at primary level may come to represent a watershed in the provision of State facilities for less able children in Irish schools. The new system empowers schools to respond to the needs of a particular child without having to wait for an individual application for support to be processed. The new teaching posts mean that nearly 1,200 special education teaching posts have been created in primary schools in the last year. The response of Government in meeting he needs of children with learning difficulties is at last beginning to meet the huge demand. It is estimated that 1 in 5 children in primary schools has special learning requirements. Additionally there are children with needs such as autism and Down’s Syndrome who will continue to be catered for individually. The service to them has been enhanced by the recruitment of more than 70 local special needs organisers throughout the State.
Irish Times (Dublin), May 10, 2005

Writing an ‘Education Soap Box’ article in a major Scottish newspaper, Fred Forrester says the policy of mainstreaming by the Scottish Parliament needs reviewing. ‘Whatever social disadvantage might be created for individuals by the revival of special education (joint campuses are one way of alleviating this), this is ultimately more acceptable than disorder in the classrooms of mainstream schools. Most teachers subscribe to a liberal inclusive educational consensus, but balk at the breakdown of law and order in schools. Politicians must listen to frontline practitioners who have to face the consequences of introducing impractical policies.’
The Scotsman, May 18, 2005

Ellesmere College, Leicester, prides itself on being a good inclusive school. Through its work with partner schools in Leicester it is turning the traditional notion of inclusion on its head. The term is usually associated with mainstream schools that widen access for children with disabilities or learning difficulties. But Ellesmere is a special school which is opening its doors to more able children who are struggling in mainstream education. And through strong links with partner schools its own students can move between the college and mainstream schools to take GCSEs or to whichever environment suits their educational needs. Vice principal, David Thomas said there was a continuum of provision with movement between mainstream education, schools with additional resources, units for children with particular disabilities and special schools.
Times Educational Supplement, May 20, 2005

When Jordan Bailey was diagnosed as having cerebral palsy, his mum’s first reaction was to send him to a special school. When he was two, the youngster started attending John Jamieson School in Oakwood, Leeds, which worked with children with physical disabilities However, despite the school’s specialism in the field, Jordan was not happy there. His mother, Karen, agreed that her son could try out a mainstream nursery. At the time, Seacroft Children’s Centre was embarking on a pilot scheme which involved taking on a handful of youngsters with complex needs. At first Jordan spent one morning at the centre. It was an instant hit. Soon he was going to regular sessions, playing and working alongside the mainstream children who accepted him immediately. Eventually, Jordan, now four, joined full-time.
Yorkshire Evening Post, May 26, 2005