Teachers: Special Needs Training (Hansard, 24 July 1996)

§ The Minister of State, Department of Education and Employment (Lord Henley)
My Lords, local education authorities are responsible for ensuring that teachers are equipped to meet the needs of children in their area. The DfEE and the Teacher Training Agency are considering how we might improve training for all teachers of children with special educational needs in the light of a report by the Special Educational Needs Training Consortium. Priority has been given to training in severe learning difficulties in allocating money under the grants for education support and training programme. Next year, money will be protected for this area and a small number of other areas of high priority.

§ Lord Rix
My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for that helpful Answer. Does he agree that the lack of a dynamic career structure for teachers of children with severe learning difficulties acts as a disincentive to them to take the special courses which are required and to seek employment in that area of work? Can he suggest how the Government might be able to persuade such teachers to undertake the training, for their careers to become, as it were, more productive, in what is perhaps the most important area of special needs education which at the moment appears woefully to be underfunded.

§ Lord Henley
My Lords, before necessarily accepting what the noble Lord says about the career structure for those involved in special needs education, I should want further evidence. There is no reason why career prospects for teachers with experience in SEN should be less good than those for other teachers. Teachers who teach children with special educational needs qualify for an extra pay point. Many qualify for a second extra pay point if they have further training or extra qualifications. A much higher proportion of teachers in special schools—that is, those dealing with severe learning difficulties, in the main—is on the higher points of the pay spine than other teachers. In the light of a recent report to the Secretary of State I am aware of concerns that there are a number of LEAs which will not spend money to train teachers to move into SEN training, which is the important point at which to look. We have consulted widely on that report, and we hope to be able to announce measures to address some of those concerns in the near future.

§ Lord Ashley of Stoke
My Lords, does the Minister agree that the teaching of children with severe learning difficulties is becoming more demanding and complex? Does he further agree that there is a widening gap between the possible help and the available help to such children and that there is no local solution to this 1377 national problem? What is required is a national response by the Government to ensure that such children are helped by fully trained teachers.

§ Lord Henley
My Lords, that is one of the reasons why we funded the review by the Special Educational Needs Training Consortium into the systems in place for the training of teachers of children with SEN. As I made clear in my Answer, we are considering the recommendations in detail with the teacher training organisation and we will be responding to them in the near future.
I must remind the noble Lord that in the end it is for the LEAs and not the Government to ensure that their staff have the appropriate skills, knowledge and understanding to deal with the needs of all the pupils in their care.

§ Lord Pearson of Rannoch
My Lords, if there is indeed a shortage of teachers who are adequately trained to teach mentally handicapped children, will the Government consider reversing their present policy of encouraging local services to frustrate parents who wish to place their mentally handicapped children in special schools and, instead, actively encourage such schools with all their well known advantages of scale and effect?

§ Lord Henley
My Lords, perhaps I may assure my noble friend that we have no such policy. Obviously, we wish to see as many children as possible integrated into mainstream schools. However, we have always made it clear that parental choice in the matter should be observed. If parents wish their child to attend a special school that policy should be pursued as far as possible. It would be wrong to say that we had a policy of actively encouraging or forcing LEAs to push all children into mainstream schools.

§ Lord Dormand of Easington
My Lords, is the Minister aware that there has always been a shortage of specialist teachers of children with special learning difficulties and that no one has done anything about that? Is it not the case that the Minister has given the usual response by putting the responsibility onto the local education authorities? I recently wrote to the Minister about the matter and I agree that the Government do a great deal as regards the shortage of maths teachers, science teachers, modern languages teachers and so forth. Therefore, why cannot they do something about these specialist teachers? Will the Minister say what is being done in particular about the training of teachers for deaf-blind children?

§ Lord Henley
My Lords, as regards the noble Lord's final point, I should prefer to write to him. However, as regards his more general point that the Government have done nothing, I wish to make it clear that we have done a great deal. As I have made clear, under the GEST programme we have allocated money specifically for the training of teachers of children with SEN. In recent years, £10 million a year has been supported and priority has been given to those with severe learning difficulties in allocating money under GEST for 1996–97. That money will be protected for SLD and other priorities in the following years.

§ Baroness Gardner of Parkes
My Lords, will my noble friend confirm that the Government's policy is that there should be parental choice? Is he aware that some areas which have good schools for children with special educational needs are determined that children must go to those schools even though the parents may wish them to go to a normal school?

§ Lord Henley
My Lords, obviously every LEA has a slightly different priority in terms of how much integration it wants. However, I can confirm that the Government believe that parental choice should receive a high priority in considering the needs of the child. That requirement was included in the 1993 Act and it is clear that parental choice should always be observed.

§ Lord Morris of Castle Morris
My Lords, is it true that in 1997–98 the DfEE is proposing to cease the GEST funding grant for the training of SEN specialists and replace it, together with two other grants, with a combined SEN grant? If so, we are informed at paragraph B.39 of a DfEE circular that the combined grant is likely to be less than the SEN-related grants for 1996–97. Why should the total be less than the sum of the parts?

§ Lord Henley
My Lords, as I made clear, next year money for severe learning difficulties and other priorities will be protected.

§ Lord Morris of Castle Morris
My Lords, will it be cut and will it be lower than the current year?

§ Lord Henley
My Lords, as I made clear, it will be protected.

§ Lord Renton
My Lords, does my noble friend have the estimate of the number of such teachers who are needed in England and Wales and can he say how many are available?

§ Lord Henley
My Lords, according to our surveys, about half the number of teachers of children with severe learning difficulties have a specific severe learning difficulties qualification. Many of the other teachers will have other relevant and specific training and other skills which they can bring to the classroom. However, I do not believe that it is necessarily right that all teachers of children with severe learning difficulties should go on lengthy specialist courses. As I made clear, we believe that other teachers can bring different qualities which complement those of the teachers with specialist training.