Special educational needs
Schools remain reluctant to be "inclusive" if it means accepting pupils with behaviour problems, say education inspectors in
A report from Ofsted has examined how children with special educational needs (SEN) are being included in mainstream schools.
Government Response: Department for Education and Skills
A Department for Education and Skills spokesperson said: "If a child is disruptive or violent then we support heads in their tough decisions to remove a child from mainstream provision - to a pupil referral unit or other alternative provision."
Party Response: Conservative
Tim Collins, Conservative education spokesman, said: "The inclusion policy meant that children have been dumped on failing schools.
"It is deeply unfortunate that the government's ideological approach to the inclusion of special educational needs pupils in mainstream education has led to the closure of 70 special schools since 1997."
Stakeholder Response: Association of Teachers and Lecturers
Dr Mary Bousted, ATL general secretary, said: "Teachers have put an enormous amount of effort and developed expertise in meeting the needs of SEN pupils within mainstream schools. Undoubtedly, as a result of the inclusion policy, many children's lives have been transformed and there have been much higher expectations of their abilities and potential.
"However, real and continuing issues still remain. If a child with special needs is to be educated in a mainstream school, it is essential to ensure that it is the appropriate place for them.
"Goodwill is not enough. Teachers need better training to be able to meet the needs of SEN pupils. Also adequate resourcing and funding must be made available to schools so that they can give the support needed to provide the best education for all."
Stakeholder Response: National Union of Teachers
Steve Sinnott, NUT general secretary, said: "Ofsted's report shows the enormous efforts schools have made to include children with special educational needs and their willingness to be seen as inclusive.
"But I am concerned about aspects of the report. Schools cannot be expected to include children with severe behavioural difficulties if teachers have tried and not been able to overcome the problems. Teachers have to have regard for the education of all other children in the school. Their education must not be disrupted by the behaviour ofchildren with special needs. David Bell should have said that special school and unit provision should be available in all local authorities.
"He should also have warned that SEN support services, so vital for inclusion, are under threat from government pressure on authorities to delegate more and more of their budgets to individual schools.
"We are still not there yet in achieving access to all school buildings for children with disabilities. Only a minority of schools have lifts allowing access to all floors for children with mobility difficulties. The government should reinstate additional and specific funding for making school buildings more accessible."
Stakeholder Response: Institute of Education
Professor Susan Hallam, professor of education at the
"Schools are under pressure to maintain the highest academic standards. It is therefore not surprising that many are reluctant to offer support to pupils who have behaviour problems as they disrupt the learning of other pupils and make it extremely difficult for teachers to teach. Parental concerns about poor behaviour and competition between schools to recruit high attaining pupils exacerbate the situation.
"If we want truly inclusive education we have to find better ways of supporting children with behavioural difficulties and their families, for instance, through multi-agency behaviour support teams, anger management programmes, mentoring, counselling, parenting programmes, police in schools and fully extended schools. We also need to consider whether the curriculum on offer is appropriate to meet their needs and aspirations."
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