Bullying is the main reason disabled children move from inclusive schools to special schools, says a new study from Edinburgh University. It also says that many problems result from social barriers rather than disability.
Junior Education, May 2000.

Campaigners fighting to save Gloucestershire’s special schools say their hopes of a lifeline from 10 Downing Street have been dashed by Tony Blair. The Prime Minister has snubbed a request to meet parents and campaigners who want to present a 20,000 name petition to him. In a lengthy letter, Mr. Blair said he had no power to influence LEA plans and proposals for reorganisation and it would be better to send the petition direct to the County Council. Mr. Blair also explained why he believed integrating special needs pupils into mainstream was in the best interests of children. ‘What we are seeking to do in partnership with parents, schools and LEAs is to create an environment which encourages greater inclusion, allows all pupils to achieve their full potential and also ensures that pupils’ special educational needs are appropriately and effectively met.’
Gloucestershire Echo, May 3, 2000.

A Tunbridge special school is preparing for a £100,000 major shake-up which will see it re-named and re-opened with a new role in the autumn. Waveney School, which currently takes special needs children aged five to 16, is to become a primary school when it is amalgamated with St George’s School in Tunbridge Wells which will take the secondary age-group. Both will be known as Oakley School and run by one governing body and one head teacher. Martin Absolom, who was previously head of St George’s, will be working closely with mainstream schools in two towns to re-integrate children with less complex learning difficulties.
Tunbridge Courier, May 5, 2000.

Walsall head teachers have expressed fears over the possibility of integrating special school pupils into mainstream education in a major shake-up. Many believe the borough’s education authority would not provide enough support for teachers. They fear that there would not be enough help for staff to teach children with serious special needs, especially those with behaviour problems. Their comments appear in a report by a consultant to Walsall Council’s school organisation committee. Plans to overhaul the education system have been in the pipeline for some time. They involve about 600 pupils in Walsall with learning, behavioural and physical disabilities.
Walsall Express and Star, May 6, 2000.

One of the Year 7 hearing pupils from Silverdale School, Sheffield, Philip Jacobs, contacted Yorkshire Television with a millennium promise. He pledged to learn sign language so he could communicate with pupils in the deaf unit, and in particular with Kasim Ahmed who is in his form. The result was a YTV film crew arriving at school. They filmed Kasim and Philip in a mainstream maths lesson and then interviewed them, the two of them signing together. They also filmed the weekly lunchtime sign language class. The lunchtime sign language class is taken by one of the teachers from the deaf unit and is open to anyone from the mainstream school.
The Star, Sheffield, May 10, 2000.

Several special schools look set to close or merge in a vigorous shake-up of special needs education in Lambeth, London. If Lambeth Council’s plans to reorganise seven of the borough’s ten special schools on top of two schools which are already earmarked for mergers with mainstream schools. If the ambitious plan – which affects more than 500 pupils – is accepted during consultation, there will be two fewer schools. Schools will either alter or close and re-open as merged schools. Among the schools under threat is Shelley School in Kennington, which recently won glowing praise from Ofsted inspectors.
South London Press, May 12, 2000.

A major shake-up of Norwich special schools is on the cards following a review of educational provision for special needs children. Project planning is due to begin next April. The LEA maintains 12 special schools in Norfolk at a cost of £8.8 million. The proposals are based on an inclusive approach to education that enables youngsters with additional needs to be educated alongside their peers, within their local communities wherever possible. Key recommendations include:
• Specialist provision in mainstream schools to support the inclusion of children with complex needs.
• Consideration of ways of achieving fair access to provision irrespective of geographic location.
• Special schools becoming centres of excellence, offering support and advice to mainstream schools.
Eastern Evening News (Norwich), May 15, 2000.

Children with autism and Asperger Syndrome are on average 20 times more likely to be excluded from school than their peers, according to a report to mark the start of Autism Week. One in five (21 per cent) children with the condition are excluded at least once, compared to 1.2 per cent. of the total population. The situation is even worse for more able children with autism – almost 30 per cent. of them have been thrown out of school. The National Autistic Society, which commissioned the survey ‘Inclusion and Autism is it Working?’, is calling for the situation to be addressed urgently. The report found that teachers across the UK send home autistic children of all abilities because they lack the necessary expertise, time and specialist support. For children with severe autism and those who are especially able, parents cite lack of training and understanding as their main gripes. Parents of more able children say sudden changes in curriculum or classroom organisation are common, avoidable causes of confusion and problem behaviour.
Northern Echo, Darlington, May 16, 2000.

Parents fighting the closure of a special needs school have won help with their court costs. Thornhill Special School in Hartlepool, is due to close at the end of the school year next year. The local education authority agreed the closure as part of its inclusive policy of integrating disabled pupils into mainstream schooling. But parents claim their children will suffer bullying and a worse education in mainstream schools. They want them to stay in Thornhill school because they received the full range of social and medical treatment and top quality education. The legal costs will be spent on taking the case to the European Court of Human Rights where parents will argue that the pupils have lost their rights to an education and have been treated like second class citizens.
Northern Echo, Darlington, May 17, 2000.

Special needs schools in the East Riding are set for a shake-up in a bid to boost falling numbers. Six of the region’s special schools are included under the proposals which follow consultation sessions with teachers and parents. The biggest changes will take place at Riverside School, in Goole, where pupils numbers will be increased and attendance criteria changed. The moves are likely to secure the long-term future of the school with Riverside being modified to cater for children with moderate learning difficulties and other complex needs. An East Riding Council spokesman said: ‘This is part of a massive exercise to re-evaluate special schools. Numbers are down across the country and there is a need to re-designate the responsibilities of East Riding Special Schools.’ The falling numbers follow a Government push to switch more special needs pupils into mainstream schools. A total of 739 special needs pupils are educated in the mainstream, way above the national average.
Hull Daily Mail, May 27, 2000.

Special schools will play a vital role in the future of education according to a Government minister. But Junior Education Minister, Jacqui Smith, said integrating children with special needs into mainstream schools was also a cornerstone of Government strategy as it benefited children both educationally and socially. Her comments came as two Gloucestershire MPs spoke during a Commons debate on Government policies towards special educational needs. Graham Barton, chairman of the Gloucestershire Special Schools Protection League, said the minister’s comments showed how muddled the policy is: ‘On the one hand they are saying inclusion is the cornerstone and in the next breath they are saying special schools are very important. We think all the children who could be included in mainstream education in Gloucestershire have been.’
Gloucestershire Echo, May 30, 2000.