Μainstream schools fail to help children with special educational needs (SEN) reach their
full potential, is what their parents
believe, according to a report published today, 14th dec. 2014, by The Independent.co.uk.
A survey of 1,000
parents by the charity Mencap (the UK's leading learning disability
charity, working with people with a learning disability and their
families and carers), found mainstream schools are failing children with
learning disabilities – with 81% of parents saying they are not
confident their child's school is helping them do their best.
65% of parents (nearly two-thirds) are convinced their
child receive poorer education than those without special
needs. 64% of parents say their childen have been taken out
of class or activities because of their disability.
"Parents feel
the education service is woefully ill prepared to properly support
children and young people with a learning disability to reach their full
potential," said Jan Tregelles, Mencap's chief executive.
Nancy Gedge, a teacher from Gloucestershire with a
13-year-old son, Sam, who has Down's syndrome, criticised support for
him at his primary school:
"All
children have the right to a good education, equal life chances and
opportunities for the future. These rights should be no different for a
child with a learning disability – yet time and time again we hear that
children with a learning disability are not getting the support they
need at school. My son Sam, spent much of his time with his
teaching assistant but very little time interacting properly with his
peers or receiving proper support from his teacher to reach his
potential. Mainstream teachers are not being given the training
they need and, as a result, Sam became separate to his peers and saw
himself as separate, too. Since moving to secondary school, though,
things are much better".
In special schools, every member of staff is trained to give pupils
meaningful, appropriate and fruitful experiences. That
means the staff is working with understanding of the pupils
needs. There are also caretakers, cleaners and support staff all work with
these pupils. All teachers and staff have experience working
with pupils with special needs, something a mainstream school cannot provide.
The survey revealed a shift away from
special needs children attending mainstream schools. The number of pupils entering special schools increased by
nearly a third among 10-11 year olds, at the beginning of
school year 2013-14. The report said "This marks a significant and sudden movement of pupils with SEN away from mainstream settings"
A
DfE spokesperson said: "In September we introduced the biggest reforms
in a generation for children and young people with SEN to help them
reach their full potential. We have always said this is the start of a
journey and there are a wide range of resources available to help
schools deliver the reforms. We have made funding available
through for teachers and support staff to take new classes and
qualifications. We have also worked with partners including the teaching
unions to produce materials and a briefing pack to help school staff."
Source:
http://www.independent.co.uk
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