'Not Every Child Can Cope in Mainstream'
Posted on: Friday, 4 July 2008, 00:00 CDT
A Proposal which recommends more special school places for the county's youngsters has been met with opposition by councillors.
A list of proposals for special educational needs was presented to Lincolnshire County Council's executive after 12 months of work by a scrutiny panel for children's services.
The two key recommendations were to provide more dedicated special school places and boarding options across the county.
David Bennett, member of the scrutiny management committee, said: "Lots of young people are not placed in a special school that is right for them and many are struggling on in mainstream schools.
"In the survey of schools across the county teachers believe some youngsters are struggling because they are not in the right place.
"There are two recommendations which are addressing the shortfall of places in special schools and the need for some further boarding provision."
The task group sought the views of teachers, parents and other people working in the field to produce the report.
Headteachers in mainstream schools told the group they had pupils who were inappropriately placed with them and 'badly' needed a specialist placement.
The report relayed that some teachers said the only way to get any action on pupils that were inappropriately placed in mainstream schools was to permanently exclude them.
Other recommendations included ring-fencing cash which goes to schools for School Action and School Action Plus - the process in identifying a child's specialist needs.
County council leader Councillor Martin Hill said: "Wherever possible children should be kept in mainstream and the two recommendations are probably at odds with what we are trying to achieve at the moment."
Members of the executive also highlighted the fact that Lincolnshire has retained more of its special schools than many other authorities.
But the task group said that did not mean the provision was sufficient.
Tracey Steele (40), of Doddington Park, Lincoln, has a 14-year- old son who attends the Phoenix School in Grantham.
"It's okay trying to keep children in mainstream school but not every child can cope with it," she said.
Steve McGuinness is the chairman of Children and Parents' Asperger Autistic Support for Lincolnshire.
His ten-year-old son has high functioning Asperger's Syndrome.
"Personally I think young people who are high functioning should get a place in a special school," he said.
(c) 2008 Lincolnshire Echo. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
Source: Lincolnshire Echo
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