Andrew Sutton, director of the Foundation for Conductive Education, says disabled children and their families are ill-served by the present sterile debate about inclusion and segregated schooling. According to Mr. Sutton, it is time to move on and look for a synthesis of the best that both can offer, plus something new and more. He says potential for substantial change does exist but will not flourish until it is freed from the shackles of old thinking. Inclusion and special schooling have both passed their sell-by dates, he says.
Daily Telegraph (Weekend), May 3, 2003.

Millions of pounds are being ploughed into education for pupils with special needs. A £3.75 million grant from the Department of Education and Skills has been given to the Broadwater Farm Inclusion Project in Haringey, London. According to the Council’s education service, the successful bid for cash will allow pupils of all abilities and backgrounds throughout the borough to benefit from a more inclusive education.
Haringey Advertiser, May 14, 2003.

Henrietta Spink and her husband Michael are about to embark on the final leg of their campaign to ensure that children with special educational needs in their area – and perhaps nationally – get the support they need. Along with 25 other families the Spinks are this month instigating a judicial review of Wandsworth Council’s alleged failure to provide the services specified for their sons Henry and Freddie in their statements of special educational need – the documents which set out the amount and type of support children are entitled to receive. It is the first time so many families have collectively challenged a council over special needs provision. Campaigners hope the move will act as a wake-up call to other authorities which, they claim, play fast and loose with the statementing system to save money. The Spinks hope that dragging their council to court will trigger a public inquiry into the approach taken by local councils to special needs provision.
The Guardian (Society), May 14, 2003.

A mum says her nine-year-old son is missing vital swimming lessons because his school refuses to buy him prescription goggles. Charlie Cox, who has limited eyesight, can not swim with his pals at Brookburn Primary School in Chorlton without special goggles. But at £150 a throw, mum Joanne, can’t afford them. She says the school should buy them but officials at Manchester Education Authority can not decide who has responsibility for payment. Now Charlie has to sit in a classroom doing extra lessons while his classmates have swimming lessons. Joanne, 31, said: ‘He is being discriminated against because of his eyes and it’s not fair. I don’t have any income as I’m a student so I can’t afford the £150.’
South Manchester Reporter, May 22, 2003.

She was once written off by an educational psychologist. But now Maresa MacKeith is taking A-levels at a further education college and is hoping to go to university and become a journalist. Her extraordinary story is told in a CD to launch a campaign to provide disabled children with mentors to show them what they can achieve. The campaign is being organized by Disability Equality in Education and pilot schemes are being pioneered in Newham and Tower Hamlets in London. Richard Rieser, director of DEE, said one young person who had never seen any disabled adults in the community told staff: ‘I didn’t know what happened after school – I just thought you died.’
The Independent (Education), May 22, 2003.

On current trends, the painfully slow move towards inclusion will mean that some authorities will still be trying to catch up with best practice in 100 years time. A new analysis by the Times Educational Supplement of statistics from the Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education (CSIE), shows that at current rates it will take the highest segregating education authorities over 100 years to reach inclusion levels already achieved by the London Borough of Newham, seen as a trailblazer in bringing special needs pupils into the mainstream.
TES, May 23, 2003.

Disabled visitors to Cheshire will find their stay is even more enjoyable following the launch of an accessibility web site by the County Council. Cheshireforall.com is the first of its kind in the UK and provides independently verified information on access and facilities at all Cheshire’s attractions. It also gives a range of hotels and other accommodation that qualify under the National Accessible Scheme. Bert Massie, chairman of the Disability Rights Commission, who officially launched the site at County Hall, Chester, said: ‘The internet has had a profound impact on the way we live, work and study. It is vital that this new and powerful technology does not leave disabled people behind, but that its potential for delivering a genuinely inclusive society is realized to the full’.
Crewe Mail, May 30, 2003.