The government published a third annual report on learning disability issues.
Source: The Government s Annual Report on Learning Disability 2005, Cm 6700, Department of Health, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report
Date: 2005-Nov
A report said that people with learning disabilities were too often excluded from mainstream education and jobs.
Source: Hazel Morgan et al., Rights of People with Intellectual Disabilities: Access to education and employment in the UK, Open Society Institute (eumap@osi.hu)
Links: Report (pdf) | OSI press release (pdf) | FPLD press release
Date: 2005-Oct
An education inspectorate report said that inconsistencies between local authorities and a lack of joined-up thinking were limiting access to good-quality childcare provision for parents with children who had special needs.
Source: Removing Barriers: A can-do attitude - A report on developing good practice for children with special needs in early years childcare and education in the private and voluntary sectors, HMI 2449, Office for Standards in Education (07002 637833)
Links: Report (pdf) | OFSTED press release | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Sep
An education inspectorate report reviewed the quality of external special educational needs support for schools, focusing mainly on local education authority support and outreach services by special schools. Significant variations were found in standards of support.
Source: Inclusion: The impact of LEA support and outreach services, HMI 2452, Office for Standards in Education (07002 637833)
Links: Report (pdf) | OFSTED press release
Date: 2005-Jul
A report said that there was little progress towards inclusion of special needs children in England, during the period 2002-2004. One-third of local education authorities increased segregation of special needs children over this period. There were also very wide geographical variations: in 2004 pupils with statements of special educational needs in South Tyneside were 24 times more likely to receive a segregated education than those in Newham, London.
Source: Sharon Rustemier and Mark Vaughan, Segregation Trends - LEAs in England 2002-2004: Placement of pupils with statements in special schools and other segregated settings, Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education (0117 344 4007)
Links: CSIE press release
Date: 2005-Jul
The third wave was published of longitudinal research with young people with special educational needs, to record and track their progress as they moved from compulsory schooling to early adulthood.
Source: Jane Aston, Sara Dewson, George Loukas and Alan Dyson, Post-16 Transitions: A Longitudinal Study of Young People with Special Educational Needs (Wave 3), Research Report 655, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report (pdf) | Brief (pdf)
Date: 2005-Jul
In January 2005 almost 242,600 pupils across all schools in England had statements of special educational need. This represented the lowest number of pupils with statements of SEN over the previous 5 years.
Source: Special Educational Needs in England January 2005, Statistical First Release 24/2005, Department for Education and Skills (0870 000 2288)
Links: SFR (pdf)
Date: 2005-Jun
A new book called for an inquiry into how best to provide for pupils with learning difficulties: it suggested that, rather than teaching all children in mainstream schools, more special schools should be established. (The author chaired an inquiry in the 1970s, which resulted in a law guaranteeing all children the right a place in a mainstream classroom.) A children's charity said that it was "alarmed" at the negative picture of inclusive education given in the book.
Source: Mary Warnock, Special Educational Needs: A New Look, Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain (01782 583122) | Press release 29 June 2005, Children?s Society (020 7841 4415)
Links: Children's Society press release | NAS press release | Children Now report | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Jun
A report examined barriers to vulnerable children (including looked after children, young offenders, and pupils with special educational needs) accessing examinations at the end of key stage 4 (age 16), and identified strategies employed to overcome them.
Source: Sally Kendall, Annie Johnson, Kerry Martin and Kay Kinder, Vulnerable Children s Access to Examinations at Key Stage 4, Research Report 639, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report (pdf) | Brief (pdf)
Date: 2005-May
A report said that there was a 'postcode lottery' of provision of educational services to deaf children. There was a shortage of fully qualified staff. Professionals expressed concerns around funding issues - in particular, the potential threat to delegated services. A lack of expertise on the part of school inspectors in evaluating provision for deaf pupils was also a concern.
Source: At the Heart of Inclusion: The role of specialist support for deaf pupils, RNID (0808 808 0123)
Links: Report (pdf) | Children Now report
Date: 2005-Jan
A research report aimed to address a lack of empirical evidence surrounding the admission and exclusion of pupils with special educational needs.
Source: Anne Wilkin, Tamsin Archer, Kate Ridley, Felicity Fletcher-Campbell and Kay Kinder, Admissions and Exclusions of Pupils with Special Educational Needs, Research Report 608, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report (pdf) | Brief (pdf)
Date: 2005-Jan
