Three Kingston mothers have called on the council to plug a ‘massive childcare gap’ and provide the support their disabled children desperately need. Sophie Ugle, Diane Lacey and Mary Macan submitted a report to Kingston Council showing how disabled children and their families are being let down by the borough. The report was written by Ms Ugle because of her own frustration in trying to get childcare for her 12-year-old daughter, Rachel, who has a severe learning disability. Ms Ugle says Kingston’s mainstream holiday and afterschool clubs discriminate against her daughter as they say she can not attend without a support worker, which can cost up to £60 a day. The report says: ‘There appears to have been little thought in Kingston as to how disabled children can truly access mainstream provision without parents having to beg, fight or with restrictions imposed.’
Surrey Comet, June 6, 2003.

Parents of children with disabilities are being ‘forced’ to put them into mainstream schools even though it may harm the education of other pupils, a senior union leader has claimed. Alana Ross, president of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) yesterday said that children who are thriving in special schools are being asked by education authorities to move to mainstream schools and parents of prospective pupils are being turned away. The integration drive is the result of new legislation coming into force in August which requires education authorities to ‘presume’ that all children are educated in ordinary schools. The clause, a late addition to the 2000 Education Act, is aimed at winning greater integration into society for people with disabilities. Calling for a rethink of plans to phase out special schools, Mrs. Ross said that parents will have less choice.
The Scotsman, June 6, 2003.

Education chiefs are promising a positive future for special schools in Bridgwater after unveiling a series of improvements. Under the scheme pupils will no longer have to travel out of their area to go to school and special schools will widen their work with mainstream institutions. The move comes after a review of the county’s special schools and Somerset Local Education Authority is proposing to develop community-based special schools. Special schools currently accept pupils from a wide area but under the new scheme clear areas will be defined to ensure pupils do not have to travel a long way. Work with mainstream schools will be widened and special schools will also work more closely together to meet the needs of the community.
Bridgwater Mercury, June 10, 2003.

Baroness Ashton, the Minister responsible for special educational needs, has said that inclusion in education is not based on the school setting. Writing in the Independent newspaper, she said: ‘Ensuring children receive an inclusive experience is not dependent on whether a child attends a special or mainstream school. What matters is that children are valued as members of their school community and are able to develop their skills by learning and playing with children from a range of backgrounds and abilities. I believe that whenever possible this should be in a mainstream setting but recognize that will not be right for every child with SEN, nor all of the time.’
The Independent (Education), June 12, 2003.

The warm relationship that has built up between the Marjorie McClure School for the disabled in Bromley, Kent, and its mainstream neighbour, Coopers Technology College, is visibly two-way. While it is now the norm for most of Marjorie McClure’s Year 8 and above pupils to attend lessons at Coopers for much of the day, the Cooper’s pupils are themselves drawn to the nearby special school for its well-equipped relaxation areas and its poolroom. Sarah Kieran, head of the learning support faculty at Coopers, said: ‘Far from expecting the Marjorie McClure students to come across to us the whole time, we have a policy of encouraging both staff and pupils to go to their school too. Not only does this make the relationship between us more equal but it also allows our pupils to experience their often superior facilities’.
The Independent (Education), June 12, 2003.

A disabled teenage who broke her leg while attending school without a carer is suing her local authority for discrimination. The 14-year-old who needed friends to help her around her Cardiff secondary school because she was unable to walk properly, fell during a drama lesson. She was off school for six months and was told that she could not return until a new carer, who would normally give her support, was found. The girl’s mother said her daughter has a statement of special educational needs in place outlining her special needs and the local authority and school should provide her with a carer to assist her in school. The school said it could not take the girl back because she did not have a carer and there were insurance implications.
Western Mail, Cardiff, June 14, 2003.

Writing in the letters column of the Daily Mail, Sue Cuthbert describes the different arrangements for two of her sons, both of who have special needs: ‘My middle son has an autistic spectrum disorder while my youngest son has a probable autistic spectrum disorder. The middle son attends a mainstream school in a mainstream class with only a small amount of help. After a couple of difficult terms he settled down well. My youngest son, however, started in a mainstream class but could not cope, even though the class had only 14 pupils. He is now in a special needs class attached to a mainstream school. In this environment he is making startling progress, is calm and is starting to join in with the others. This goes to show that there is no hard and fast rule on how children with autism should be taught and passing judgment on parents is unfair’.
Daily Mail, June 16, 2003.

A mother has threatened to pull her blind son out of his school if he is not allowed to attend a specialist college. Louise English said Daniel, 12, would not be returning to Belmont Comprehensive School in Durham after the summer break. She said her son had been bullied and was also unhappy because of safety restrictions which prevented him fully participating in subjects such as PE and cookery and in science experiments. She is fighting with Sunderland Education Authority to send him to the Royal National Institute for the Blind College in Worcester. Places at the boarding school, which has specialist equipment such as talking Bunsen burners and ovens, cost £29,500 a year.
Sunderland Echo, June 23, 2003.