Activists challenge teachers on SEN

By Sunil Peck

The policy of including disabled pupils in mainstream schools is failing because of inadequate provision, teachers claim.

Delegates at the conference of teaching union NASUWT passed a motion calling for pupils with special educational needs (SEN) to have the opportunity to be educated in a school best suited to their needs, whether it be a mainstream or segregated school.

They also called for an end to the situation where local authorities place pupils with SEN in mainstream schools because they are not as expensive as special schools.

Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, told Disability Now that she wanted the Government to introduce a national framework underpinned by a clear definition of inclusion.

She said that this would clarify the process of deciding what school a pupil with SEN should attend.

Campaigners agree with the NASUWT about the shortcomings of the current system, but said that special schools had no place in an inclusive education system.

Tara Flood (pictured), director of the Alliance for Inclusive Education, expressed sympathy for teachers in mainstream schools under pressure to meet unrealistic attainment targets. But she said that she was concerned that disabled pupils were being blamed for all the problems in the education system.

She said: "Removing disabled children from the mainstream education system will not be the solution to the current problem. It is the responsibility of the system to change to welcome all learners, not to scapegoat disabled children."

Richard Rieser, the Director of Disability Equality in Education, said that all pupils had a right to be included in the mainstream system and that it had to develop in order to accommodate them.

He added: "It's true that the majority of resources for kids with SEN go to kids in special schools. There are far larger numbers of kids with SEN in mainstream schools who do not get sufficient resources and don't get the sort of support that they need."