Memorandum submitted by National Association
of Head Teachers (NAHT)
1.1 The National Association of Head Teachers
welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to this inquiry,
and to set out the ideas of school leaders in relation to the
education of children with special educational needs. In the main
part of this submission, we state our views in respect of the
headings set out by the Committee when it launched the inquiry.
However, we would like to take the opportunity first to set out
some general points in this area.
1.2 NAHT welcomed publication of the government's
SEN strategy Removing the Barriers to Achievement, and
supports the main thrust of the strategy. We welcome the Audit
of Low Incidence Needs that is going on at the moment, and understand
that the Audit Commission is to carry out similar work. We meet
senior staff in the DfES SEN Division regularly, and would hope
to continue this positive relationship. NAHT has published two
policy documents in this area, which have recently been updated.
1.3 For too long the debate over special
educational needs has been dominated by demands from some quarters
for the closure of special schools and the education of all children
with special needs in a mainstream setting. It is to be hoped
that that debate is now over, and that policy-makers can move
on to address the positive contribution that special schools can
make in the creation of a truly inclusive education service. This
contribution is recognised in the DfES strategy, and by Lady Warnock
in the paper she published earlier this year. She urges an inclusive
system that "allows children to pursue the common goals of
education in the environment within which they can best be taught
and learn".
1.4 Many children with special educational
needs will be able to thrive in a mainstream school, perhaps with
additional support. Where this is the case, it is right that the
child should be in a mainstream setting. In this context, it is
important to be clear as to what is meant by inclusion. NAHT has
developed the following definition:
"Inclusion is a process that maximises the
entitlement of all pupils to a broad, relevant and stimulating
curriculum, which is delivered in the environment that will have
the greatest impact on their learning. All schools, whether special
or mainstream, should reflect a culture in which the institution
adapts to meet the needs of its pupils and is provided with the
resources to enable this to happen".
1.5 In addition, NAHT was instrumental in
ensuring that each of the six teacher associations passed resolutions
promoting a similar view of inclusion.
1.6 The implication of this definition is
that the key determinant in deciding where to place a child is
that child's needs. He/she should be in the setting appropriate
to them at any given time, a point developed further below.
We now turn to the specific areas in which the
Committee has asked for evidence.
PROVISION FOR
SEN PUPILS IN
"MAINSTREAM" SHOOLS:
AVAILABILITY OF
RESOURCES AND
EXPERTISE; DIFFERENT
MODELS OF
PROVISION
2.1 As noted above, NAHT supports the education
of children with special educational needs in mainstream schools
where this is appropriate to the needs of the child. Some pupils
will need additional support to enable them to get the full academic
and social benefits of being in that school. This support is not
always forthcoming; in too many cases the child is placed in a
mainstream setting without the funding required to provide the
support. Where this happens, the child is unable to fulfil his/her
potential. NAHT receives regular calls from members who know that
the funding available to meet the special needs of a child they
are about to admit is not sufficient; their concern is for the
child, who they know will struggle without the support.
2.2 We note below how a child placed in
a school which cannot meet his/her needs may display their frustration
through disruptive behaviour. Others may become withdrawn in the
face of this situation, so they are not in a position to contribute
to the life of the school, or to fulfil their potential. Unhappy
children find it hard to learn.
2.3 While this inquiry does not seek views
on funding issues, the above complexity is often caused by resources
not being available. Many of the difficulties experienced by mainstream
schools come down to funding—extra classroom assistants,
ICT provision, reasonable adjustments to meet pupils' needs, all
need to be adequately funded.
2.4 Much expertise and experience relating
to the education of children with special needs is contained in
special schools. With effective management, this expertise can
be very helpful in supporting a mainstream school's education
of a special needs child. There are examples within various local
education authorities of good practice in this area. However,
where special schools have been closed, this expertise will not
be available.
2.5 There has long been a tension between
the standards and inclusion agendas. Schools are judged on the
basis of GCSE passes or end of key stage test results, which are
published in performance tables. If a school admits children with
behavioural difficulties, or learning difficulties, this may affect
the school's measured test scores, which is likely to disadvantage
it among, for example, parents who are choosing schools. There
was a consultation from DfES in 2004 on Performance Tables
and Pupils with Special Educational Needs, but this did not
address the key issue.
PROVISION FOR
SEN PUPILS IN
SPECIAL SCHOOLS
3.1 Those who lobby for the closure of special
schools often talk of children being "segregated". The
Association would not support this concept, but would urge the
expansion of flexible arrangements to support a child. These could
include short-term special school placements, dual placements
and the use of special school staff to train or work with mainstream
schools. Special schools provide a rich potential resource for
the support of teaching in mainstream schools, although these
activities need to be arranged to accommodate the special school's
teaching of its own pupils.
3.2 There is a legal assumption that children
with statements will be educated in mainstream schools, unless
this is against the wishes of the parent. For parents to make
an informed choice, it is important that they are given information
about the full range of options available to their child. We are
not confident that parents are always given full information about
special provision, even when this might be appropriate for their
child. Early intervention is important in addressing a child's
needs. Most special school heads have experience of being asked
to admit a child who has failed in mainstream, for whatever reason,
when if that child had come to a special school much earlier their
needs could have been addressed earlier, and the child might not
have failed. The concept of a child having to fail sufficiently
to qualify for admission to a special school is in no-one's interest,
least of all the child.
3.3 It is important that special schools
are included in learning communities and other clusters set up
locally. Too often special schools are included as an afterthought,
rather than in the initial stages of development.
3.4 In considering where to place a child,
consideration of the outcomes from Every Child Matters is
helpful. The placement should be that in which the child is most
likely to be healthy, to be safe, to enjoy school, to achieve
their full potential and to make a positive contribution. If the
placement is likely to promote those outcomes, the chances are
that it is appropriate.
RAISING STANDARDS
OF ACHIEVEMENT
FOR SEN PUPILS
4.1 A crucial point in this area is to ensure
funding for support staff is available. These people also need
to be trained adequately; while the education of children with
special needs depends on the support of these colleagues, it is
important to avoid the situation whereby the children with the
most complex needs are taught by the least trained staff.
4.2 Many teachers, particularly newly qualified
teachers, do not have the knowledge required to meet the increasingly
complex special needs of some children admitted to mainstream
schools in recent years. Staff in special schools also need training,
as they work with children with very severe needs, needs which
have become increasingly complex in recent years as medical advances
mean severely disabled children now live longer than previously.
Special school staff will also need preparation for the outreach
role described above, if this something they have not done in
the past.
4.3 NAHT welcomes the moves by the Training
& Development Agency for Schools aimed at increasing the confidence
of teachers in relation to SEN issues, and look forward to hearing
how this develops. We would also like to pursue means by which
special schools can take a greater role in initial teacher education,
perhaps accommodating students on a long placement.
4.4 We have mentioned early intervention
before, but it needs to be acknowledged here that this is crucial
to raising standards of children with special needs. Without this,
the advantages of early diagnosis are weakened, or lost. In many
cases, admission of a child to specialist provision at an early
stage can lay the foundation for successful mainstream placement
later.
THE SYSTEM
OF STATEMENTS
OF NEED
FOR SEN PUPILS
(THE STATEMENTING
PROCESS)
5.1 The process is time consuming and costly.
However, it is often seen by parents as the only way to ensure
funding is provided to meet their child's needs. If they could
be made more confident that the needs would be met, this could
lead to a reduction in the demand for statements.
5.2 Lady Warnock has acknowledged that the
process has become "wasteful and bureaucratic", and
recommends that it be re-examined. This would be a useful exercise.
In the short term, it might be helpful to restrict the statementing
process to those children with more complex needs, for whom special
school provision is being considered.
THE ROLE
OF PARENTS
IN DECISIONS
ABOUT THEIR
CHILDREN'S
EDUCATION
6.1 Parents need to be involved in discussions
about their child's special needs at a very early stage. Their
knowledge of the child and how his/her learning is affected by
identified (or, for that matter, unidentified) special needs should
be recognised and used. Some disabilities, such as visual/hearing
impairment, physical disability, serious illness, can be diagnosed
very early in life, and parents need to be involved in discussions
about educational and medical provision from an early stage.
6.2 We noted above that, in considering
whether their child would be best placed in a special or mainstream
school, parents need all available information on which to the
best choice. Unless they are given full information about special
school provision available to the child, they are not in a position
to make a sensible decision.
HOW SPECIAL
EDUCATIONAL NEEDS
ARE DEFINED
7.1 The Association has expressed concern
in the past about the danger of seeing a child as being listed
under one specific category. The tendency to categorise special
educational needs under specific headings weakens the holistic
view of the child. There are many children whose needs range across
the headings available, and it is important to note how needs
inter-relate. Identifying a child's needs under a specific category
increases the risk of failing to recognise other difficulties.
This is not to say labelling is always unhelpful, but that it
should be handled with care. The complexity of some children's
needs must be recognised, even though they do not fall neatly
under one or other heading.
PROVISION FOR
DIFFERENT TYPES
AND LEVELS
OF SEN, INCLUDING
EMOTIONAL, BEHAVIOURAL
AND SOCIAL
DIFFICULTIES (EBSD)
8.1 Children with EBSD are among the most
difficult to place in mainstream schools, because of their impact
on staff and other children. The Association would urge that this
area is made a focus of government surveys on the subject of behaviour
and discipline in schools.
8.2 "Zero tolerance" of disruptive
behaviour needs to be matched by recognition that this can be
the manifestation of unmet learning and social needs. For example,
a child who is inappropriately placed, in a setting which cannot
meet his/her other needs, may express frustration by means of
inappropriate behaviour, generating additional difficulties for
child and school.
8.3 Schools need access to the resources
and training opportunities to address these needs, perhaps through
local partnerships or other arrangements. We argued earlier that
staff in special schools are often well-placed to provide training
for mainstream colleagues. Where special schools have been closed,
this resource will no longer be available.
8.4 For some children with EBSD, the normal
school curriculum is not appropriate. Schools need the flexibility
to ensure the curriculum is appropriate to the child's needs,
rather than trying to fit the child around the existing curriculum.
THE LEGISLATIVE
FRAMEWORK FOR
SEN PROVISION AND
THE EFFECTS
OF THE
DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION
ACT 2001, WHICH
EXTENDED THE
DDA TO EDUCATION
9.1 The statutory presumption that a statemented
child will be educated in mainstream, unless parents want a special
school place, has led to some children being inappropriately placed.
If a child is wrongly placed at an early stage in his/her school
life, this not only creates frustration, but often delays the
provision of effective early intervention.
9.2 It is worth repeating under this particular
heading the Association's concern that in some cases, parents
are not given adequate information about available special school
provision. To make an informed choice, parents need to be offered
a range of options from which to choose, in which the potential
benefits of mainstream and special education, including residential
special education if appropriate, are set out. This is particularly
important because of the statutory presumption noted above.
9.3 The concern of many schools in relation
to the DDA again revolved around funding, and whether they are
in a position to make the reasonable adjustments required of them.
The majority of schools are very keen to admit children with special
needs, but are inhibited by lack of funding to provide the support
they know the child needs to succeed.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, we urge the development of a
truly inclusive education service, moving beyond arguments of
the right of special schools to exist, to looking at how best
to develop their contribution to the service. Early identification
of needs should lead to early intervention, so that children's
needs are addressed as soon as possible, without waiting for more
stringent criteria of need to be met. Such a policy will be in
the interests of children and parents, and in the longer term
will be cost effective.
SEN POLICY PAPER
The NAHT believes that policies for meeting
pupils' special educational needs should be coherent across local
authorities and other agencies. This requires an agreed definition
of inclusion, as it affects pupils who have special educational
needs. The NAHT has adopted the following definition:
"Inclusion is a process that maximises the
entitlement of all pupils to a broad, relevant and stimulating
curriculum, which is delivered in the environment that will have
the greatest impact on their learning. All schools, whether special
or mainstream, should reflect a culture in which the institution
adapts to meet the needs of all its pupils and is provided with
the resources to enable this to happen".
The NAHT also believes that:
— Pupils' needs should be assessed,
identified and met as early as possible.
— Parents and pupils should have access
to a range of provision, to ensure the best possible match between
needs and where they will be met.
— A regional network of centres of
excellence catering for low incidence needs should be available,
to ensure equality of opportunity.
— There should be an effective system
in place for interagency working, to underpin the whole of the
provision.
— Every person has an entitlement to
lifelong learning.
As the education service covers pupils with
the whole range of abilities and aptitudes, it follows that the
current emphasis on seeing progress in terms of average and above
levels of attainment, needs to be broadened to recognise the achievements
of all pupils.
NAHT will seek to use its influence to move
the debate away from talking in terms of different sectors, to
establishing a fully inclusive education service, within which
all types of provision work together to support all pupils, in
accordance with the view of inclusion set out above, and in the
light of the government strategy Removing the Barriers to Achievement.
The Association will also seek to support members
by:
— Working with other agencies to clarify
the distinction between SEN and disability.
— Highlighting the need for the necessary
resources to support inclusion.
— Identifying practices that make best
use of the expertise in schools and support services, and encourage
collaboration.
— Working with Government to research
ways of measuring pupil outcomes.
— Providing advice on the complex medical
issues now facing schools.
— Protecting the interests of all members.
POLICY PAPER
ON SPECIAL
SCHOOLS
1. Introduction
A previous NAHT paper (i) set out the Association's
support for special schools as a key element in the continuum
of educational provision. That paper had been written in the context
of uncertainty over the future of special schools. Since then,
the Association has welcomed the commitments set out in Chapter
two of Removing Barriers to Achievement (ii), and the confirmation
of the role of the special school as a key part of inclusive educational
provision.
The context is now wider, with the emergence
of the Extended Schools agenda, Every Child Matters and
the greater emphasis on joint agency working. All schools, special
and mainstream, have a role to play in providing effective education
under this wider children's agenda.
2. Inclusion
NAHT sees inclusion as a process, and defines
it as below:
"Inclusion is a process that maximizes the
entitlement of all pupils to a broad, relevant and stimulating
curriculum, which is delivered in the environment that will have
the greatest impact on their learning. All schools, whether special
or mainstream, should reflect a culture in which the institution
adapts to meet the needs of its pupils and is provided with the
resources to enable this to happen".
Further, the annual conference of each of the
six teacher associations held in the 12 months from August 2004
approved a resolution identifying inclusion as being about all
schools working together as part of a process, to meet pupils'
needs in the most appropriate setting.
It is also important to note that there appears
to be agreement across the three main political parties as to
the value to pupils of special schools.
An important factor in the current discussion
on inclusion is the paper published recently by Lady Warnock (iii).
This calls for a review of special needs provision, moving away
from the idea of inclusion as "all children under the same
roof" towards the "ideal of including all children in
the common educational enterprise of learning, wherever they learn
best".
Inclusive schooling is essential to the development
of an inclusive society. It requires an education service that
ensures the provision and funding is there to enable all pupils
to be educated in the most appropriate setting. This will be the
one in which they can be most fully included in the life of their
school community and which gives them a sense both of belonging
and achieving.
Crucial to this aim is the requirement for life-long
learning, and an education service that ensures all children are
provided with the life skills they need, in order to maximize
their potential.
Inclusion, then, does not mean that all children
should be placed in mainstream schools. It is more sophisticated
than that. Discussion between the school(s), the LEA, the parents
and the child should decide the best provision. Where a youngster's
needs can be met in mainstream education, that is where s/he should
be. While most will be able to thrive in mainstream with the necessary
support, it remains the case that the needs of a minority will
be best met in a special school, whether on a part-time, short-term,
or longer term basis, perhaps by means of dual placement, involving
special and mainstream schools in the child's education.
3. The Role of Special Schools in the Continuum
of Educational Provision
Special schools contain much specialist expertise
and they have the potential to enhance the education of students
throughout the education system. The key role of each special
school will remain the education of its pupils, but it can also
make a significant contribution to the provision for pupils attending
neighbouring mainstream schools. This is already going on in a
number of areas, and this good practice should be encouraged elsewhere.
Additional impetus to this work is provided in Removing Barriers
to Achievement (iv).
The Association welcomes the enhanced role for
special schools proposed in The Report of the Special Schools
Working Group (v). The following are examples of ways in which
special schools can add value to the available provision, while
ensuring effective education for their own pupils:
— special schools already have considerable
experience in the management of a diverse workforce, including
teachers, education support staff, therapists and care staff.
Much that is proposed in Raising Standards and Tackling Workload:
a National Agreement, signed in January 2003, will have been
common practice in special schools for some time;
— as a recognised "centre of excellence",
a special school is in a good position to contribute to the professional
development of mainstream staff, provide outreach support to local
schools, act as a resource centre, share good practice, help with
assessment and intervention and assist with adapting the curriculum
to make it more accessible to individual learners. There may be
an even greater need to free up this expertise in smaller or unitary
authorities, where LEAs do not have the range of expertise required
to support mainstream schools in meeting a wider range of needs;
and
— special schools have considerable
experience in the use of data to help improve standards, including
the use of "P" Levels for those with significant learning
difficulties. They are used to devising Individual Education Plans
for all their pupils. Results in some special schools bear comparison
with national averages, rather than just with other students who
have special educational needs.
To strengthen the important role of special
schools in the education continuum requires:
— a funding system that allows for
movement of staff and pupils between mainstream and special schools,
or in some cases dual registration;
— inclusion of special schools in all
initiatives, rather than adding them in as an afterthought or
excluding them altogether;
— greater involvement of special school
leaders in local decision making, so that they are given equal
status with colleagues from mainstream primary and secondary schools;
— close working with the Regional SEN
Partnerships to provide the ideas, knowledge and expertise borne
of practical experience, that can be used to enhance the work
of these Partnerships and support the drive towards equity of
provision in all areas; and
— advice on provision available in
special schools being made available at an early stage to parents
who are considering where their child with special needs should
be taught, so that all available options are considered.
4. Funding and the Statementing Process
For over 20 years, statements of SEN have been
the main means of ensuring that pupils with the most significant
difficulties receive the support they need. However, it is now
clear that this is not a cost effective process. Instead of being
a means of assessing and meeting a child's needs, as envisaged
by the Warnock Committee (vi), the process has become a means
of accessing money. According to the Audit Commission (vii) 69%
of SEN expenditure is focused on children who have statements,
(around 3% of the school population), and much of this money is
spent on the bureaucracy surrounding the statementing process
rather than meeting pupils' needs. As well as being an inefficient
use of funding, the current statementing procedures can have the
effect of delaying assessment until the pupil has been in school
for some time, possibly several years, and postponing relevant
intervention. Clearly, it is time for a change.
What is needed is a system that ensures that
more pupils receive funding without having to resort to the statementing
procedure. As many, including parents, would have concerns about
abolishing statements entirely, a first step could be for them
to become the norm only for pupils for whom full-time, special
school placement is being considered. This would free up more
funds for support to the vast majority who are in mainstream schools,
instead of wasting it on bureaucracy. All parties need to be working
towards a system that is transparent and flexible. Transparency
is essential so all involved can be confident that children's
needs are being met. Flexibility is required to ensure that money
allocated to a particular child follows that child if he/she moves
to another school or LEA, without disadvantaging the school from
which s/he has moved, which may have employed classroom or other
support to meet the child's needs. This is likely to require some
central funding to which schools can have access, at least in
the short term.
The Association, of course, accepts the need
for accountability in spending SEN resources. While it is important
for mainstream schools to show how money for SEN in their delegated
budgets has been spent, and to identify shortfalls in funding
which restrict their ability to meet the needs of students, delegation
of funds to schools should not mean that they are held responsible
for inadequate provision.
5. Early Intervention
Early intervention is essential if a child's
needs are to be most effectively addressed. It can be argued that
early diagnosis has improved in recent years, so that conditions
which are likely to impact on a child's learning and development
are noted earlier. However, this is of no benefit unless it is
followed by early intervention to address the identified needs.
The wider children's agenda, referred to above,
has increased the need for effective communication between those
working in health and social services and education professionals,
including the staff in nursery and early years settings. This
will ensure that information about any medical conditions or home
circumstances that may affect the learning or development of a
child, is known to relevant professionals in advance. Schools
accept the need for professional confidentiality, but it is essential
that relevant staff have early knowledge of any factors relevant
to a child's education.
NAHT would support legislation requiring medical
and social service professionals to share relevant information
with professional colleagues in the education field. Co-operation
should be encouraged between schools, education services, Primary
Care Trusts, social services departments, and health authorities
to ensure effective joint support for the child, and also the
family where this is appropriate.
While the bringing together of these agencies
should ensure co-ordination of efforts in support of the child
and the family, each is under its own funding pressures. No agency
should assume that this process will give access to large amounts
of additional funding being held by the other agencies. However,
it should promote more effective deployment of the resources available.
It is also true that co-ordinated early intervention is likely
to be cost-effective in the longer term.
Only if all professionals involved with a child
are fully aware of factors that might have an effect on that child's
learning can there be early and effective intervention. It is
important that the system encourages assessment earlier rather
than later, and that provision, including placement in a special
school if that is seen as appropriate, is made available as soon
as the need for it has been identified. At present, there is a
tendency to use special schools as a last resort when other interventions
have failed, by which time the child's difficulties may well have
been compounded by the delay in effective placement.
As well as the complexities caused by a delayed
placement, schools are aware of many cases where a mis-placed
desire for inclusion leads to a child with special needs being
placed in a mainstream school, without the necessary support.
With this support, the child could well thrive; without it, the
frustration felt by the child may well manifest itself through
inappropriate behaviour. This may in turn lead to a further wrong
placement, based on this behaviour rather than on the child's
underlying needs and creating further difficulties for the child.
It is important that arrangements for the sharing
of information, and the funding to support them, are available
equitably across all LEAs, and that funding levels and provision
across England, Wales and Northern Ireland are comparable.
NAHT supports the advice issued in the DfES
Guidance Documents regarding early provision for disabled (viii)
and for deaf children (ix), and would urge that these principles
are extended to children with other SEN. The advice needs to be
given statutory backing.
6. Conclusion
The Association is pleased to note the progress
in the debate on special schools since the publication of its
previous paper in 2003. Re-visiting previous arguments for the
wholesale closure of special schools must be avoided; their positive
contribution in the educational continuum is widely recognised,
and that should now be the focus of discussion. Future debate
would more usefully address how all schools can work with other
relevant agencies for the benefit of children and their families,
ensuring the promotion of the outcomes set out in Every Child
Matters.
NAHT represents senior staff in the majority
of special and mainstream schools. Its Special Educational Needs
Committee contains colleagues from special and mainstream schools,
including residential schools, as well as colleagues working in
local authority support services. The Association will continue
to support its wide-ranging membership to promote a secure and
exciting future for special schools.
REFERENCES:
(i) "Policy
Paper on Special Schools", NAHT, 2003.
(ii) Removing
Barriers to Achievement—The Government's Strategy for
SEN, DfEs, 2004.
(iii) "Special
Educational Needs: A New Look", Mary Warnock, Philosophy
of Education Society of Great Britain, 2005.
(iv) DfES, 2004,
paragraph 2.13.
(v) "The Report
of the Special Schools Working Group", DfES, 2003.
(vi) "Special
Educational Needs", Warnock Report, 1978.
(vii) Special Educational
Needs—A Mainstream Issue", Audit Commission, 2002.
(viii) "Together
From the Start—Practical Guidance for Professionals Working
with Disabled Children (Birth to Third Birthday) and Their Families",
DfES Guidance 0067/2003.
(ix) "Developing
Early Intervention/Support for Deaf Children and their Families",
DfES Guidance 0068/2003.
September 2005
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