A disabled teenager was left an answerphone message saying she could not start her university studies — four days before the course was due to begin. Hayriye Mehmet, 19, who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, was accepted onto a Brighton University travel and tourism course to be held at City College, Brighton and Hove. But shortly before the start she received a message saying delays to building work meant the campus was no longer accessible and her place would be deferred until next year. She said she felt very angry and had written to the university, college, her MP and Prime Minister, Tony Blair.
Disability Now, November 1, 2001.

Legal experts are to investigate the cases of 20 special needs children in the Scottish Borders following claims their education authority is breaching human rights and health and safety legislation by imposing damaging cuts on services. A dossier telling the stories of families who have suffered as a result of the cutbacks was presented to the Scottish Borders Council. It is also being used as evidence by the lobbying group Borders Equality in Education in a hard-hitting submission to parliamentarians investigating the Border’s budget overspend.
The Scotsman, November 7, 2001.

A school has been ordered to accept an autistic boy even though its specialist unit is full. An education tribunal has ruled that the Abbey School, Faversham, must find 14-year-old Jonathan Green a place. The school had been breaking the law by refusing to admit the teenager because its autistic centre already had 16 pupils, the maximum number it could cope with. But this week the Department for Education and Skills told chair of governors, Lesley Temple, that she and the rest of the governing body had an ‘unqualified duty’ to admit the teenager. She has been told that she must confirm by the end of the week a the latest that a place has been found for him.
Faversham News, November 15, 2001.

A flagship ‘co-location’ project to merge a primary school and a special school in Sutton Coldfield has been revealed. Under the proposed scheme Langley Special School would relocate from its Lindbridge Road site to Coppice Junior and Infant School in Trinity Road. The move, one of the first of its kind in Birmingham, is part of the City Council’s inclusive education plan, which will see children with special needs working alongside classmates in mainstream classes. The plan has the support of both heads. MP for Sutton Coldfield, Andrew Mitchell, who has visited both schools called the project ‘an exciting and logical development’ and stressed the need to get it right and implement it effectively.
Sutton Coldfield News, November 16, 2001.

Four special schools in York are to close as part of a major shake-up to special needs education in the city. They will be replaced by two new schools for primary and secondary age pupils. The move is in response to pressure from parents to absorb children with special needs into mainstream education. The integrated approach has resulted in falling demand for special needs places for children with all but severe and profound special needs at Fulford Cross, Northfield, Galtres and Lidget Grove schools. Director of Education, Patrick Scott said: ‘Closing schools is always a tough decision but we are being forced to adjust to the changed expectations of parents. The Special Education Needs and Disability Act requires us to improve access to mainstream education for children with special needs’.
Yorkshire Post, Leeds, November 23, 2001.

Kent County Council has teamed up with a charity in a new initiative designed to include more blind and visually impaired children in mainstream schools. The partnership between the county council and the Kent Association for the Blind will bring opportunities for learning to visually impaired children as part of the KCC’s All Together Better Project. The initiative aims to raise standards and meet the needs of children with special or additional educational needs. The one-year scheme costing £24,500 will be co-ordinated by KAB and schools that will take part are currently being identified. Paul Carter, KCC cabinet member for educational standards said: ‘Disability should not be a barrier to education. Many blind and partially sighted children receive an excellent education in special schools, but this initiative is intended to extend choice offering pupils the opportunity to attend their local school and learn with their peers.’
Whitstable Times, November 29, 2001.

A redundant drama block at Berwick High School has been transformed into a modern study centre for students experiencing difficulty in their education. The school received a £50,000 grant from the government to create the study centre, which is designed to help students with behavioural problems or who require individual support or an alternative curriculum to stay in the education system. Head teacher Stephen Quinlan said the new facilities would provide a new beginning for such students. ‘They will each have an individual action plan, incorporating individual tuition within the centre, support in the home, on going partnerships with teachers, parents and outside agencies, such as the welfare and youth services. The centre, the first of its kind in Northumberland, already has 30 students on its books and can be used by up to six at any one time. Its design is based around a modern commercial office rather than a classroom, with six computer stations, a quiet study area, meeting room and office. A full-time learning support teacher and four assistants have been appointed to manage it.
Berwick Advertiser, November 29, 2001,

At least half of all special school pupils in Leeds will be transferred to mainstream education under radical new plans. Education Leeds has admitted the scheme could lead to the closure of some of the ten existing special schools. But it claims it will produce a service better suited to the needs of individual pupils, with current staff and resource levels retained to support pupils in their new mainstream schools. With about 1,000 pupils in the city’s ten special schools, at least 750 pupils would be involved. One anonymous special school teacher said staff were gravely concerned about the implications for special needs children. However the head of one of the special schools, David Dewhirst, of Broomfield Special School, said there was nothing to be afraid of in the proposals. Pupils who could cope with mainstream would do so and those who needed extra support of a special school would remain there for all or part of the time.
Yorkshire Post, Leeds, November 29, 2001