Publications
Learning the hard way
a strategy for special educational needs
| Author: | Lucy Wilkins |
| Date of Publication: | May 2008 |
How best to educate children with learning difficulties is much disputed. Some make the case for teaching them in special schools, other for integrating them in mainstream schools.
This report argues that this so called 'inclusion' debate misses the fundamental point: that it is parents, rather than politicians or officials, who are best placed to decide where their children should go to school. It therefore sets out a strategy to ensure that parental choice, rather than 'expert' opinion, will drive policy in the future. This includes:
- Supply side reforms to increase the number, and the diversity, of good school places for children with special educational needs (SEN).
- A switch from 'catchment areas' to a 'first come first served' system for allocating places at oversubscribed schools.
- The provision of detailed information for parents - about SEN inputs and outcomes - to help them choose the best school for their child.
- The translation of 'statements' into individual SEN budgets for the parents of SEN children to manage together with the school.
- A greater emphasis on early screening, literacy and access to specially trained teachers.
Media Coverage:
The Guardian: Minister seeks more help for dyslexic pupils
The Telegraph: Let pupils interview teachers, say guidelines
The Guardian (Comment is free): Making a statement