Special Schools
Moratorium on closure of Special Schools
Conservatives have launched a new policy on special educational needs, and pledged to halt the closure of Special Schools.Party Leader Michael Howard has announced that an incoming Conservative administration would change the law - to end the present presumption in favour of putting special needs children into mainstream schools, while also providing more choice and better information for the parents of children with Special Educational Needs.
And he stressed that parents now have the clear choice between a Conservative government which would boost special school provision and Labour which would close more down.Mr Howard declared: "Bringing up children is a challenge at the best of times; but bringing up a child with special needs can be doubly so. And it's not being made any easier by a government whose determination to include them in mainstream education at all costs has led to the closure of many special needs schools.
A Conservative Government will give parents whose children have special needs the Right to Choose how and where their children are educated - ending the closure of popular special schools."Mr Howard warned that under the current system, some children are being let down and inappropriately placed in mainstream schools because of a lack of balance in the current law, at a time when the number of places at special schools has fallen, when the 'statementing' or assessment process is highly complex and not trusted by parents, and when parents and teachers are not given the information and guidance they need.
To address these problems, a future Conservative Government would end the presumption in favour of mainstream and allow parents to choose the right school for their child; provide better information and guidance for parents and teachers to ensure that all children's needs will be assessed and met to a common standard; improve the choice for parents; and impose a moratorium on the closure of special schools.
Mr Howard said: "Special educational needs can take many forms - dyslexia, behavioural problems, or a mental or physical disability. Children with special needs are among the most vulnerable in our communities - the most in need of a structured, secure learning environment and the hardest hit when it's not available. "Special needs require special attention - attention denied to too many children with special needs by Mr Blair's misguided policy of inclusion at all costs. Of course where it is right for children with special needs to be taught in mainstream schools, they should be. But the fashionable presumption that children with special needs should all go into mainstream education is wrong - as many parents and teachers will tell you.
The trouble is that Mr Blair's Government isn't listening." Launching the party's policy initiative, he said: "It's not listening to the parents and teachers who say it's wrong because such a rigid approach to special needs ignores the fact that every child is unique; wrong because many children with special needs require an education that is tailored to meet their individual ability; and wrong because a child with special needs can sometimes, not always but sometimes, hold back other children in class. "
Bringing up children is a challenge at the best of times; but bringing up a child with special needs can be doubly so. And it's not being made any easier by a government whose determination to include them in mainstream education at all costs has led to the closure of many special needs schools."
Conservatives have launched a new policy on special educational needs, and pledged to halt the closure of Special Schools.Party Leader Michael Howard has announced that an incoming Conservative administration would change the law - to end the present presumption in favour of putting special needs children into mainstream schools, while also providing more choice and better information for the parents of children with Special Educational Needs.
And he stressed that parents now have the clear choice between a Conservative government which would boost special school provision and Labour which would close more down.Mr Howard declared: "Bringing up children is a challenge at the best of times; but bringing up a child with special needs can be doubly so. And it's not being made any easier by a government whose determination to include them in mainstream education at all costs has led to the closure of many special needs schools.
A Conservative Government will give parents whose children have special needs the Right to Choose how and where their children are educated - ending the closure of popular special schools."Mr Howard warned that under the current system, some children are being let down and inappropriately placed in mainstream schools because of a lack of balance in the current law, at a time when the number of places at special schools has fallen, when the 'statementing' or assessment process is highly complex and not trusted by parents, and when parents and teachers are not given the information and guidance they need.
To address these problems, a future Conservative Government would end the presumption in favour of mainstream and allow parents to choose the right school for their child; provide better information and guidance for parents and teachers to ensure that all children's needs will be assessed and met to a common standard; improve the choice for parents; and impose a moratorium on the closure of special schools.
Mr Howard said: "Special educational needs can take many forms - dyslexia, behavioural problems, or a mental or physical disability. Children with special needs are among the most vulnerable in our communities - the most in need of a structured, secure learning environment and the hardest hit when it's not available. "Special needs require special attention - attention denied to too many children with special needs by Mr Blair's misguided policy of inclusion at all costs. Of course where it is right for children with special needs to be taught in mainstream schools, they should be. But the fashionable presumption that children with special needs should all go into mainstream education is wrong - as many parents and teachers will tell you.
The trouble is that Mr Blair's Government isn't listening." Launching the party's policy initiative, he said: "It's not listening to the parents and teachers who say it's wrong because such a rigid approach to special needs ignores the fact that every child is unique; wrong because many children with special needs require an education that is tailored to meet their individual ability; and wrong because a child with special needs can sometimes, not always but sometimes, hold back other children in class. "
Bringing up children is a challenge at the best of times; but bringing up a child with special needs can be doubly so. And it's not being made any easier by a government whose determination to include them in mainstream education at all costs has led to the closure of many special needs schools."
posted by Carolyn @ 8:30 PM
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