§ Mr. David Stoddartasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he is ready to make a statement about the report of the committee of inquiry into the education of the visually handicapped.
§ Mr. PrenticeYes. The most far-reaching recommendation was for "a national plan" for special schools and other educational services for the visually handicapped. It was envisaged that planning would be carried out within each region and merely co-ordinated at the centre, and I believe that there is great scope for regional planning. My Department hopes to promote regional 613W conferences in the first half of 1975 at which LEAs will be invited to review with the voluntary bodies concerned the needs of all types of handicap, including visual, within their region. The recommendations in this report will no doubt be taken into account, including the need for further systematic experiments with the education of visually handicapped children in ordinary schools.
On curriculum development and research, the Schools Council has agreed that project directors should be asked to bear in mind the special needs of visually handicapped pupils when preparing materials, and provision has already been made for the materials of two projects to be adapted for partially-sighted pupils. The council has also agreed to support a project, starting in September 1974 at Birmingham University, in training the visual perception of the partially sighted and of blind children with some residual vision. The National Foundation for Educational Research will start at the same time, with practical assistance from the Birmingham Research Centre, a study of forms of educational provision for visually handicapped children, with special attention to questions of integration in ordinary schools.
I have decided to accept the recommendation that teachers—other than existing teachers of the partially sighted —who wish to make a career in teaching the partially sighted should be required to obtain a further teaching qualification through a full-time or a part-time course. This will place teachers of the partially sighted in the same position as teachers of the blind, the deaf and the partially hearing. Discussions are being held with the bodies concerned about the training facilities to give effect to a compulsory training requirement. My Department will issue in due course a circular about the arrangements for this and about action arising from other recommendations which were addressed to Government Departments.
I should like to pay tribute to Professor Vernon and her committee for their work in producing this report.