The government began consultation on the priorities for learning disability in the areas of health and well-being, housing, employment, education, and community inclusion. The National Health Service's remaining commissioning powers over social care services for people with learning disabilities would transfer to local government in April 2009.
Source: Valuing People Now: From progress to transformation, Department of Health (08701 555455)
Links: Consultation document | DH press release | Turning Point press release | United Response press release | NCH press release | Community Care report
Date: 2007-Dec
The healthcare inspectorate said that sweeping changes were needed to specialist inpatient health services for people with learning difficulties in England. Patients were being deprived of human rights and dignity.
Source: A Life Like No Other: A national audit of specialist inpatient healthcare services for people with learning difficulties in England, Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection (020 7448 9200)
Links: Report | Summary | CHAI press release | DH press release | NHS Confederation press release | FPLD press release | GSCC press release | BMA press release | Liberal Democrats press release | Guardian report | Telegraph report | BBC report | Community Care report
Date: 2007-Dec
A report highlighted inequalities in the system for identifying and meeting children's special educational needs, with some groups of children more likely to be 'statemented' than others with comparable needs, and considerable inconsistencies in local provision. Teachers were finding it increasingly difficult to support children with SEN in mainstream primary schools.
Source: Harry Daniels and Jill Porter, Learning Needs and Difficulties Among Children of Primary School Age: Definition, identification, provision and issues, Research Survey 5/2, The Primary Review/Faculty of Education/University of Cambridge
Links: Report | Summary | Review press release | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Dec
An article examined whether the placement of pupils with special educational needs within mainstream schools had an impact on academic and social outcomes for pupils without SEN. Overall, the findings suggested that there were no adverse effects, with 81 per cent of the outcomes having positive or neutral effects.
Source: Afroditi Kalambouka, Peter Farrell, Alan Dyson and Ian Kaplan, 'The impact of placing pupils with special educational needs in mainstream schools on the achievement of their peers', Educational Research, Volume 49 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2007-Dec
A Member of Parliament introduced a Bill designed to amend the 1996 Education Act to compel the collation and publication of statistics on special education needs support.
Source: Special Educational Needs (Information) Bill, Sharon Hodgson MP, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard | Community Care report
Date: 2007-Dec
The education inspectorate in Scotland examined the way in which additional support was delivered to children and young people with special educational needs. Education authorities and schools had taken significant steps towards ensuring that all children and young people receive a more personalized education aimed at maximizing success for all. But the report expressed concern that different interpretations of the legislation across authorities could lead to inconsistencies.
Source: Report on the Implementation of the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004, HM Inspectorate of Education in Scotland (01506 600200)
Links: Report | HMIE press release
Date: 2007-Nov
A report said that nearly two-thirds of children and young people at risk of social exclusion had undetected speech, language, and communication needs.
Source: Melanie Cross, Language and Social Exclusion, I CAN (0845 225 4071)
Links: I CAN press release
Date: 2007-Nov
A report said that 82 per cent of children with a learning disability were bullied.
Source: Bullying Wrecks Lives: The experiences of children and young people with a learning disability, Mencap (020 7454 0454)
Links: Report | Mencap press release | NASUWT press release | EDCM press release | Community Care report | Telegraph report
Date: 2007-Nov
An article examined the policy objective of treating children with learning disabilities as 'children first' – that is, providing them with equality of treatment based on assessment of need. Families of children with disabilities had far greater problems and difficulties than other families refused support by children's services: but they experienced significantly more positive outcomes at 6-month follow up than other families. This suggested a far more complex situation than was generally indicated in the literature.
Source: John Clibbens and Michael Sheppard, 'Are children with learning disabilities really "children first"? A needs and outcome evaluation of policy', Social and Public Policy Review, Volume 1 Issue 2
Links: Article
Date: 2007-Oct
A report by a committee of MPs said that the government should rethink its refusal to separate the assessment and funding of special educational needs provision.
Source: Special Educational Needs: Assessment and Funding, Tenth Report (Session 2006-07), HC 1077, House of Commons Education and Skills Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | NASUWT press release | LGA press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Community Care report
Date: 2007-Oct
An official taskforce called on the government to take urgent action on hate crime against people with learning disabilities.
Source: Learning Disability Task Force, Could Do Better: Annual Report 2006-07, Department of Health (08701 555455)
Links: Report | LDTF press release | Community Care report
Date: 2007-Sep
A survey examined hate crime against people with learning difficulties. More than 80 per cent of advocacy groups said that hate crime was a problem: but most community safety partnerships did not.
Source: Louise Lamb and Mark Redmond, Learning Disability Hate Crime: Identifying barriers to addressing crime, Care Services Improvement Partnership/National Health Service (020 7972 1324)
Links: Report
Date: 2007-Sep
Three government departments – the Department for Education and Skills, the Department of Health, and the Department for Work and Pensions – published a joint strategy to improve outcomes for learners with a learning disability. The strategy focused on how further education could best contribute to people living fulfilling lives, and in particular how it could improve people's chances of getting paid jobs.
Source: Progression Through Partnership, Department for Children, Schools and Families (0845 602 2260)
Links: Strategy
Date: 2007-Sep
A report examined the findings from focus groups conducted with parents of children with disabilities and special educational needs, asking them about their use of, views on, and needs for childcare. Some parents of children with severe and complex additional needs used very little or no formal childcare, instead becoming full-time carers themselves and/or relying on direct payments to employ care workers in the home.
Source: Listening to Parents of Disabled Children about Childcare, Daycare Trust (020 7840 3350)
Links: Report
Date: 2007-Sep
A report said that people with a learning disability in prisons in Scotland were not being identified. Many were also bullied and cut out of rehabilitation courses; and most prison staff were not given the training or resources to deal with them.
Source: Nancy Loucks with Jenny Talbot, No One Knows: Identifying and supporting prisoners with learning difficulties and learning disabilities – the views of prison staff, Prison Reform Trust (020 7251 5070)
Links: Report | PRT press release | BBC report
Date: 2007-Sep
A report said that young people with learning disabilities who went away to residential schools and colleges faced a stressful time when they left. There was a need for better support for both them and their families.
Source: Pauline Heslop, David Abbott, Lisa Johnson and Robina Mallett, Help to Move On: Transition pathways for young people with learning difficulties in residential schools and colleges, Norah Fry Research Centre/University of Bristol (0117 923 8137)
Links: Report | Summary | Bristol University press release | Community Care report
Date: 2007-Sep
The disability rights watchdog examined progress on tackling the inequalities in physical health experienced by people with mental health problems and learning disabilities. It expressed concern that the Department of Health was only just beginning to show the high-level commitment and leadership that was necessary if real change was to come about. There was resistance to collecting the national data that was needed on health inequalities.
Source: Equal Treatment: Closing the Gap – One Year On, Disability Rights Commission (08457 622633)
Links: Report | FPLD press release | MHF press release | Rethink press release | Community Care report
Date: 2007-Sep
A study examined how the government?s Supporting People programme was affecting housing and support for people with learning disabilities. The programme had provided a much-needed injection of cash into services for people with learning disabilities, which had enabled the development of an increasing number of supported living services. But most important decisions continued to be made by service managers and commissioners.
Source: Rachel Fyson, Beth Tarleton and Linda Ward, Support for Living? The impact of the Supporting People programme on housing and support for adults with learning disabilities, Policy Press for Joseph Rowntree Foundation, available from Marston Book Services (01235 465500)
Date: 2007-Aug
The government announced plans to move people with learning disabilities out of National Health Service campuses by 2010, back into their own homes. It said that closing the campuses – small homes where (according to research) residents had fewer friends, less choice, and fewer things to do than in other settings – would close 'one of the darkest chapters in our nation's history'.
Source: Press release 9 August 2007, Department of Health (020 7210 4850)
Links: DH press release | Community Care report | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Aug
An official commission produced its final reports on the problems of people in Northern Ireland with mental health problems and learning disabilities. It said that the existing law was out of date and inappropriate for those who could not make decisions for themselves, and outlined proposals for unified, rights-based mental health and capacity legislation.
Source: A Comprehensive Legal Framework for Mental Health and Learning Disability, Bamford Review of Mental Health and Learning Disability (Northern Ireland) (mentalhealth.reviewteam@dhsspsni.gov.uk) | Promoting the Social Inclusion of People with a Mental Health Problem or a Learning Disability, Bamford Review of Mental Health and Learning Disability (Northern Ireland)
Links: Legal framework report | Summary | Social inclusion report | BBC report | Community Care report
Date: 2007-Aug
An article examined an advocacy group – the Parliament for People with Learning Disabilities – designed to give learning-disabled individuals a voice in the design of public services. It discussed the limits of approaches that were cast too exclusively in terms drawn from liberal models of citizenship, and that prioritized voice over care, security, and well-being.
Source: Marcus Redley and Darin Weinberg, 'Learning disability and the limits of liberal citizenship: interactional impediments to political empowerment', Sociology of Health & Illness, Volume 29 Issue 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2007-Aug
A study (conducted by people with learning difficulties) examined how 15 adults with learning difficulties lived, and what they thought about their lives. The more choices that were available to people with learning difficulties, the more likely they were to be included in their local communities. But some people interviewed did not receive enough support to manage their lives, and were left to struggle by themselves. Research by people with learning difficulties was often seen as not serious or reliable.
Source: Craig Hart, Chris Shane, Karen Spencer and Angela Still, Our Lives, Our Communities: Promoting independence and inclusion for people with learning difficulties, York Publishing Services for Joseph Rowntree Foundation, available from York Publishing Services Ltd (01904 430033)
Links: Report | JRF Findings
Date: 2007-Aug
A report by a working group of the opposition Conservative Party called for an end to the policy of including children with special needs in mainstream schools, and for the number of special school places restored.
Source: Commission on Special Needs in Education, The Second Report, Conservative Party (020 7222 9000)
Links: Report | Conservative Party press release | Scope press release | NCH press release | Guardian report | BBC report | Community Care report
Date: 2007-Jul
An article examined the abuse of adults with learning disabilities in England. Two parallel policy agendas – the promotion of choice and independence for adults with learning disabilities, and the development of adult protection policies – had failed to 'connect', thus allowing abuse to continue to flourish.
Source: Rachel Fyson, 'Independence or protection – does it have to be a choice? Reflections on the abuse of people with learning disabilities in Cornwall', Critical Social Policy, Volume 27 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2007-Jul
An audit report said that there was no clear link between the level of expenditure reported by local authorities in Wales and the quality of special educational needs provision. Councils were not yet able to tell whether or not their special educational needs provision was cost-effective: but there were good examples of initiatives that had the potential to improve the understanding of this.
Source: Good Practice in Special Educational Needs Funding, Wales Audit Office (029 2026 0260)
Links: Report | WAO press release
Date: 2007-Jul
A survey found that children with learning disabilities were twice as likely to face bullying as other youngsters: 8 out of 10 were bullied either at school or when they went out in the evening.
Source: Press release 18 June 2007, Mencap (020 7454 0454)
Links: Mencap press release | EDCM press release | Community Care report | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Jun
The government launched a cross-government strategy to support people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities to achieve fulfilling lives and further their education. It set out plans for increased joint policy development, improvements in provision and services, improvements in workforce performance, and the development of joint evaluation and monitoring systems.
Source: Progression through Partnership, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260), Department for Work and Pensions, and Department of Health
Links: Strategy | DfES press release | Community Care report
Date: 2007-Jun
The government announced an independent inquiry into access to healthcare for people with learning disabilities.
Source: Press release 31 May 2007, Department of Health (020 7210 4850)
Links: DH press release | Mencap press release
Date: 2007-May
A report examined the social exclusion of people with a learning disability who were tenants in supported accommodation provided by a range of agencies throughout Northern Ireland.
Source: Roy McConkey and Suzanne Collins, At Home in the Community, Triangle Housing Association (028 2766 6880)
Links: Ulster University press release
Date: 2007-May
Campaigners said that over one-third of children under 17 issued with an anti-social behaviour order had a diagnosed mental health disorder or learning difficulty.
Source: Press release 26 February 2007, British Institute for Brain Injured Children (01278 684060)
Links: BIBIC press release | Research summary | Community Care report
Date: 2007-Mar
A report examined a scheme (introduced to Scotland in 2000) which was designed as an innovative way to strengthen communities' capacity to welcome and include people with learning disabilities. Local area co-ordinators were highly valued by the individuals and families they worked with, and service users reported that the scheme had made a significant difference to their lives.
Source: Kirsten Stalker, Margaret Malloch, Monica Barry and June Watson, Evaluation of the Implementation of Local Area Co-ordination in Scotland, Scottish Executive (web publication only)
Date: 2007-Mar
A report said that people with learning difficulties were dying prematurely because of institutional discrimination and ignorance within the National Health Service. The government responded by ordering an independent inquiry into the cases highlighted.
Source: Death by Indifference, Mencap (020 7454 0454)
Links: Report | Mencap press release (1) | Mencap press release (2) | CHAI press release | DRC press release | RCPsych press release | BBC report | Community Care report (1) | Community Care report (2)
Date: 2007-Mar
The government issued draft guidance on planning and developing provision for children with special educational needs. It set out a new 'improvement test' for local authorities who might be considering reorganizing their SEN provision, including changing special school provision, so as to ensure that schools would not be closed unless better provision were put in their place.
Source: Press release 8 March 2007, Department for Education and Skills (0870 000 2288)
Links: DfES press release | Guardian report
Date: 2007-Mar
A report said that people with a learning disability in prison were not being identified. They were also bullied, and cut out of rehabilitation courses. Prison staff were not given the training or resources to deal with them. Some prisoners with a learning disability did not even know why they were in prison.
Source: Jenny Talbot, No One Knows: Identifying and supporting prisoners with learning difficulties and learning disabilities - The views of prison staff, Prison Reform Trust (020 7251 5070)
Links: Report | PRT press release | YJB press release | Community Care report
Date: 2007-Mar
A report by a committee of the National Assembly for Wales said that lives could be blighted if proper arrangements were not made to help young people with special educational needs transfer from school to further education or work.
Source: Policy Review of Additional Educational Needs Part 3: Transition, Education Lifelong Learning and Skills Committee/National Assembly for Wales (029 2082 5111)
Links: Report | NAW press release
Date: 2007-Mar
An audit report said that local authorities in England spent an average of £57,000 per child on private education for children with the most severe special needs: but they had little idea if they were getting value for money.
Source: Out of Authority Placements for Special Educational Needs, Audit Commission (0800 502030)
Links: Report | Audit Commission press release | LGA press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Children Now report
Date: 2007-Feb
An article examined the practice- and policy-based literature on person-centred planning in learning disability services in England.
Source: Sandra Dowling, Jill Manthorpe and Sarah Cowley, 'Working on person-centred planning', Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, Volume 11 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2007-Feb
A report said that children with learning disabilities were six times more likely to have a diagnosable psychiatric disorder than other children. The increased risk of mental health problems might be the result of their exposure to poverty and social exclusion, rather than their condition, in some cases.
Source: Eric Emerson and Chris Hatton, The Mental Health of Children and Adolescents with Learning Disabilities in Britain, Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities (020 7802 0300) and Institute for Health Research/ Lancaster University
Links: Report | FPLD press release | Community Care report
Date: 2007-Feb
A report said that almost 6,000 men, women, and children with an IQ of less than 70 were locked up in prisons at any one time. Such low IQs affected an individual's ability to cope with prison life, and hindered communication and understanding: but there was no routine screening or assessment of people in prison to identify their needs properly.
Source: Pat Mottram, HMP Liverpool, Styal and Hindley Study Report, Faculty of Medicine/University of Liverpool (0151 794 2000)
Links: Report | PRT press release | BBC report | Community Care report
Date: 2007-Feb
An article examined two White Papers, issued in 1971 and 2001, relating to learning disability services. There had been progress in individual rights and choices for people with learning disabilities: but there were doubts about how significant this had been in achieving a qualitative improvement in their lives. Some of these doubts related to the governance process itself.
Source: David Race, 'A tale of two White Papers', Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, Volume 11 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2007-Feb
A report examined self-advocacy for people with learning disabilities, and how it could be supported.
Source: Annie Lawton, Supporting Self-advocacy, Social Care Institute for Excellence (020 7089 6840)
Links: Report
Date: 2007-Feb
A report said that there was a lack of acknowledgement in Northern Ireland of the sexuality of people with learning disabilities - with the result that their needs were being fundamentally ignored.
Source: Audrey Simpson, Attracta Lafferty and Roy McConkey, Out of the Shadows: A report of the sexual health and wellbeing of people with learning disabilities in Northern Ireland, Family Planning Association (020 7923 5202)and School of Nursing/University of Ulster
Links: FPA press release | UU press release
Date: 2007-Feb
The education inspectorate examined provision for learners aged 16-18 with learning difficulties and/or disabilities in post-16 settings. Standards were 'uneven'. 18 of the 22 colleges visited lacked expertise in assessing students' capabilities. Learners' achievements on accredited programmes were found to be good: but the courses did not always meet students' stated needs.
Source: Current Provision and Outcomes for 16- to 18-Year-Old Learners with Learning Difficulties and/or Disabilities in Colleges, HMI 2371, Office for Standards in Education (07002 637833)
Links: Report | BBC report
Date: 2007-Jan
A report said that assistive technology could improve the quality of life of people with learning difficulties: but 'entrenched attitudes' were limiting its use.
Source: Gadgets, Gizmos and Gaining Independence: Assistive technology and people with learning disabilities, Advance Housing and Support (01993 772885)
Links: Report | Community Care report
Date: 2007-Jan
The healthcare inspectorate said that outmoded, institutionalized care had led to the neglect of people with learning disabilities at a south London primary care trust. Some of the environments in which people lived were 'impoverished and completely unsatisfactory'. Staff were not properly trained or supported to provide an acceptable level of care, and inadequate levels of staff meant that people were often left, day in day out, with little to occupy their time. There were failures in management and leadership at all levels, from managers to the trust?s board.
Source: Investigation into the Service for People with Learning Disabilities Provided by Sutton and Merton Primary Care Trust, Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection (020 7448 9200)
Links: Report | Summary | CHAI press release | Turning Point press release | Skills for Care press release | RCPsych press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Community Care report
Date: 2007-Jan
An article challenged the practice of denying the right to vote to people with intellectual impairments.
Source: Ludvig Beckman, 'Political equality and the disenfranchisement of people with intellectual impairments', Social Policy and Society, Volume 6 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2007-Jan
Researchers examined the exclusion of disabled children with little or no verbal communication from decision-making processes in education. The relatively low levels of involvement of such children in meetings that concerned them was indicative of the need for more consistency in the approach to their needs.
Source: Debby Watson, Beth Tarleton and Anthony Feiler, Full Report on the Findings from Research on the Involvement of Children with Little or No Verbal Communication, Norah Fry Research Centre/University of Bristol (0117 923 8137)
Date: 2007-Jan
A new book examined community provision for so-called 'vulnerable adults' from 1948 to 2005, focusing primarily on people with learning difficulties.
Source: John Welshman and Jan Walmsley, Community Care in Perspective: Care, control and citizenship, Palgrave Macmillan (01256 329242)
Links: Summary
Date: 2007-Jan
An article examined the views of older carers (aged over 70) of adults with a learning disability about planning for the future. The findings showed a need for a proactive approach to information and support provision to enable these families to work through a process of making plans for the future.
Source: Laura Bowey and Alex McGlaughlin, 'Older carers of adults with a learning disability confront the future: issues and preferences in planning', British Journal of Social Work, Volume 37 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2007-Jan