Back in July, I queried the value of the term "special educational needs" when it was being applied to so many children.
I was following the debate on the Academies Bill as it passed through Parliament. Lord Low of Dalston advised the Lords that ""Twenty-one per cent of children have some form of special educational need."
Rather tentatively, I suggested that "if as many as 1 in 5 of our children have 'some form of special educational need' there is something wrong with our perspective on schooling or children or special educational needs or all three".
Now it seems Ofsted agrees. I read on the BBC News website today that: "Ofsted says special needs used too widely".
The BBC report, by Education Correspondent Heather Sharp, says: "The wide-ranging study was Ofsted's biggest yet into a system that some parents have complained draws them into long and difficult battles to secure effective support for their children".
The Guardian story on the same Ofsted report quotes Jolanta Lasota, chief executive of TreeHouse pointing to the "immense barriers" faced by parents in getting the education of their choice for their children: "One of these barriers is getting that initial statement of SEN. But a statement alone is not enough and at TreeHouse we are calling for a greater understanding of special needs such as autism and more collaboration with young people and their families to deliver effective services which really support the family involved."
[Whether the Ofsted News page has not yet been updated with is story or it is to be found somewhere else I do not know. I cannot at the moment find you a link to obtain a copy of the actual Ofsted report.]
Whilst reading the first BBC News story, my eye was caught by another BBC News story published just a couple of days ago "Minister seeks more parental choice on special needs": "The children's minister [Sarah Teather] says parents should have more choice over special educational needs provision in England, as she seeks input for a Green Paper". [The Call for Views is available on the DfE Consultations website.]
Specifically, this report says that Ministers are looking to
- Give parents a choice of schools for children with SEN and disabilities,
- Transform the funding mechanisms in the system
- Prevent the "unnecessary" closure of special schools
- Support young people aged over 16 with disabilities
- Improve diagnosis and assessment.
