HC Deb 15 May 1989 vol 153 cc1-3W
Ms. Armstrong

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps he plans to take to ensure that special needs provision is protected within the framework of local financial management of schools.

Mr. Butcher

Circular 7/88 on local management of schools makes clear that LEAs will be expected to reflect in their LMS formulae the incidence of pupils with special educational needs in their schools. This will include both non-statemented pupils with learning difficulties and statemented pupils where provision for the latter is delegated to schools. It will be open to LEAs to propose to except from delegation provision for statemented pupils where they judge this to be the best way of ensuring that resources are targeted on the needs of the individual pupils concerned. Authorities may also choose to continue to manage centrally the range of advisory and support services associated with special needs provision.

Ms. Armstrong

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what he plans to do to ensure that resources are allocated within local financial management of schools to pupils with special educational needs but without statements of special educational needs.

Mr. Butcher

Paragraph 115 of circular 7/88 on local management of schools makes clear that LEAs will be expected to reflect in their LMS formulae the incidence of pupils with special educational needs in their schools. This will include non-statemented pupils with learning difficulties. Where the numbers of such pupils vary between schools it will be open to LEAs to include a specific factor in their formulae designed to target resources according to the additional need to spend of certain schools.

Ms. Armstrong

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps he is taking to ensure that the provisions made in section 19 of the Education Reform Act concerning the power of headteachers to temporarily exclude pupils with special needs from the national curriculum or to request that statements be made on such pupils is not misused.

Mr. Butcher

My Department has issued for comment by 31 May draft regulations to be made under section 19 of the Education Reform Act governing temporary exceptions from the national curriculum for individual pupils. These include the following proposals for safeguards against misuse.

A head teacher must give a special direction before lifting or modifying any national curriculum requirements in respect of an individual pupil for the purpose of assessment or reassessment for special educational needs. The special direction must include the headteacher's reasons for judging that the pupil has or probably has special educational needs requiring the making or amendment of a statement. Copies must be sent to parents, the school governing body and the LEA. Parents will have the right of appeal to the governing body, which may overturn the headteacher's decision. There will be strict time limits on the duration of directions and the scope for renewals.

A copy of the draft regulations has been placed in the Library.

Ms. Armstrong

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what plans he has to allocate additional resources for the training of teachers and others in the implementation of the national curriculum in respect of children with special educational needs.

Mr. Butcher

Additional support for training teachers to implement the national curriculum is available through the LEA training grants scheme; £47.5 million is available for this purpose in the current financial year. It is for local education authorities to decide how much to spend, within this total, on training in respect of children with special educational needs.

Ms. Armstrong

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what criteria were used in the selection of the membership of the NCC task group on special educational needs.

Mr. Butcher

It is for the National Curriculum Council, and not for my right hon. Friend to determine the selection of members of task groups.

Ms. Armstrong

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) when he plans to publish the revision of circular 1/83; and whether he can indicate the results of the consultation process in respect of the draft revision;

(2) whether he plans to give advice to local education authorities on the proper conduct of appeals in the light of the contents of the National Deaf Children's Society report entitled "A Mockery of Needs";

(3) whether, in the light of the contents of the National Deaf Children's Society report entitled "A Mockery of Needs" he will take further steps to ensure that parents of children with special educational needs receive accurate up-to-date information and adequate support at diagnosis following the provisions made in section 10 of the Education Act 1981; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Butcher

The Department of Health, the Welsh Office and this Department have received a substantial number of responses to the draft circular to replace circular 1/83. They have indicated a general welcome to the provision of new guidance to local education authorities, health authorities and social services departments on the procedures to be followed in the implementation of various provisions in the Education Act 1981. They have made a number of detailed observations which are now being considered by the Departments. The contents of the National Deaf Children's Society's report will also be taken into consideration. We hope to issue the new circular within the next few months. Guidance on the conduct of local appeals is included in the code of practice on appeals prepared by the local authority associations and the Council on Tribunals.

Ms. Armstrong

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many appeals under section 8(6) of the Education Act 1981 against the special educational provision set out in the statement of special educational needs he has received since 1983 in respect of(a) all children with statements of special educational need and (b) deaf children with statements of special educational needs; and how many of these appeals have gone in the parents' favour.

Mr. Butcher

My right hon. Friend has received 150 appeals under section 8(6) of the Education Act 1981 since 1983. It is not possible to identify from the Department's records how many of those appeals were in respect of deaf children. My right hon. Friend has amended the statement of special educational needs in 34 of those appeals. Decisions have yet to be taken on 25 appeals.