Parents of children with special needs are demanding quality provision in mainstream and special schools. Karen Faux asks if moves for more inclusion can deliver
With more children diagnosed with special needs at an earlier age, specialist provision in nurseries is now seen as critical. But do parents really have a choice when it comes to the type of provision available, and is the Government's strategy of inclusion failing to provide the quality of support required? This debate is heating up. The recently publicised case of autistic six-year-old Max Hilton, whose parents were threatened with prosecution by East Sussex County Council for taking him out of mainstream school to attend a special school, underlines the fact that local authorities are determined to push through their policies.
Now the Conservative party is also drawing criticism with its Disability Consultation, which poses the question - 'Are disabled children being physically included but educationally excluded?' The report points out that 24 per cent of disabled young people have no qualifications compared with 13 per cent of non-disabled young people. Tory MP David Cameron, whose son is severely disabled, is a vociferous advocate of special schools.
According to the Government, it is not a case of either/or. A DfES spokesperson says, 'Both mainstream and special schools have a big role to play in supporting children with special educational needs (SEN). And there is no agenda to close special schools. On the contrary, they play an important role within their own school or supporting others in mainstream ones.'
Local education authorities currently have a fair amount of autonomy in deploying their budgets for special needs within the Government's framework for inclusion. Some boroughs boast more special schools than others, and by the same token special needs provision within mainstream settings differs markedly. Most councils, however, are quick to counter the idea that inclusion is a way of catering for special needs on the cheap.
East Sussex, for example, delegates band funding of between 3,931 and 8,667 for each school. Mainstream schools have access to a range of resources for training and guidance, including the early years team and educational psychology service.
Jean Haigh, head of East Sussex SEN team, says, 'East Sussex has also invested heavily in its special schools, of which there are 11. Most of these have specialist ASD [Autistic Spectrum Disorders] facilities, and considerable investment has been made in capital programmes to support this. All of the special schools catering for learning difficulties have expertise and experience of children with ASD. One special school also has a specialist county facility for children with ASD and severe challenging behaviour.'
Real problems
While most early years professionals subscribe to the view that quality provision within mainstream settings is probably preferable, many practitioners are willing to attest that schools can face significant problems in accommodating children with severe difficulties.
Some question whether using 'inclusion' as a blanket term aids the debate: including a child with a physical disability cannot really be compared with including a child with a severe behavioural difficulty. When it comes to some children with ASD, the existing system can be agonising. The traditional strengths and features of early years education - free-flow play, a great deal of movement and lots of visual stimulation - are all highly distressing to many such children.
As one practitioner points out, 'There is a balance between the rights of the individual child and the rights of other children who may be hurt - sometimes severely and sometimes repeatedly. As a parent, finding that your child has been bitten right through the skin at nursery would be deeply distressing - and when it happens two, three or even four times in succession, a child may lose confidence about coming to nursery. It is also possible to get to the point where staff have to cope with a situation that is beyond what could reasonably be expected.'
Empowering staff with the skills, training, expertise and resources to cope with special needs is undoubtedly key to the success of an inclusive approach. At the National Autistic Society, campaigns officer Amanda Batten says, 'Inclusion is very appropriate in the early years as it can give children help right at the start, when they need it most. Currently it does come down to the ability of individuals in some settings because the infrastructure isn't there. Training needs to be increased so that all settings benefit, and it is vital that support is continued from nurseries into primaries.'
Government initiatives
Government initiatives such as the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice, Strategy for SEN and Early Support Pilot Programme are all designed to achieve standardisation in the not too distant future. But Sue Owen, director of the Early Childhood Unit at the National Children's Bureau, concedes that there is still some way to go.
'Some areas are well organised with their provision but others offer less choice for parents,' she says. 'Central Government is trying to standardise its provision with a variety of schemes, but it is a long haul. The Early Support Pilot Programme, for example, is designed to improve the delivery of services to disabled babies and children under three, while the forthcoming National Service Framework will impose targets for special needs provision.'
There can be no doubt that parents are becoming more proactive when it comes to securing the best option for their child. Petula Stovey, advocacy service co-ordinator at the National Autistic Society, says, 'In the past four years 5,000 families have used our helpline and in the past year the number of calls concerning early years has climbed.'
Sue Owen points out that materials such as the Family Pack are proving effective in explaining the range of options available to parents. 'In reality those options may not exist, but at least it gives them an idea of what ought to be in place,' she says.
Parent expectation will undoubtedly fuel higher standards. Although special schools will always be necessary for some children, professionals and many parents agree that if high quality support can be provided in mainstream settings, that has to be better.