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
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 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
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
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 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
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 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
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 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
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
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
The disability rights watchdog said that many schools failed to listen to advice from disabled children or their parents about what helped them at school and in accessing the curriculum.
Source: Ann Lewis, Sarah Parsons and Christopher Robertson, My School, My Family, My Life: Telling It Like It Is, Disability Rights Commission (08457 622633)
Links: Report | Summary | DRC press release
Date: 2007-Feb
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
The education inspectorate in Wales called for a more joined-up approach by the Welsh Assembly Government, education providers, and local authorities towards the evaluation of progress by learners with special educational needs.
Source: Evaluating Outcomes for Children and Young People with Additional Learning Needs, HM Chief Inspector of Education and Training in Wales (029 2044 6446)
Links: Report | HMCIETW 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
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
