The government has moved to reject claims that it is planning to close schools which cater for children with special needs.

Forum Response: Association of Teachers and Lecturers

Gerald Imison, joint acting general secretary of ATL, told ePolitix.com: "We welcome the commitment to considering special schools more centrally within overall educational provision. They have sometimes been seen too much as a separate part of the system.

"Children who have special needs can find their education priorities are sometimes underplayed when non-educational agenda's are considered. Inclusion in mainstream schools may be of benefit to some but it is certainly not of benefit to others and the desire to treat some pupils 'normally' can sometimes lose sight of those children's needs and impact on the education of other pupils in the mainstream schools."

Forum Response: Voice UK

Kathryn Stone, director of Voice UK, told ePolitix.com: "The issue of mainstream versus special schools is a very tricky area. There is no doubt that both sectors have an enormous amount to offer children with disabilities. The move towards mainstream education for our children must not mean losing all the expert knowledge gained from specialist provision.

"Regrettably this organisation has received reports of both types of provision failing children. The difficulty with mainstream schooling seem to be a lack of knowledge and skills in some areas, causing segregation of children for some lessons. With a specialist provision children are denied the opportunity to learn alongside their non-disabled peers and those children are denied the opportunity to learn with disabled children.

"For anything to work properly it must be properly resourced, properly funded and properly thought out. Voice UK supports the drive to keep specialist schools open with greater integration into mainstream services."

Forum Response: National Deaf Children's Society

Susan Daniels, chief executive of The National Deaf Children's Society, told ePolitix.com: "For deaf children the 'one size fits all' approach to education cannot and will not work. It is vital that parents have as wide a choice as possible in where to educate their children, so schools for the deaf will always have a part to play. We are glad the government recognises this.

"What is also important is that the quality of the education offered is high, whether children attend a mainstream school or a school for the deaf.

"At the moment, the educational achievements of deaf children are shockingly low with only half of deaf school leavers aged 16 obtaining five or more A*-C grades at GCSE. It is this that needs to be addressed as much as which school the child attends."