§ Lord Rentonasked Her Majesty's Government:
What steps will be taken to ensure that pupils in county schools are fully acquainted by their teachers with the many problems that will arise with the admission of pupils with special educational needs to these schools, as a result of the Education Act 1981, and how these problems are to be alleviated to the greatest possible degree.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health and Social Security (Lord Elton)The ways in which this may be achieved are primarily a matter for the individual schools and local education authorities concerned in the light of local circumstances. However, the Department of Education and Science has funded a research project by the National Foundation for Educational Research on the education of pupils with special needs in ordinary schools and a report was published in 1981. The report looked 1055WA closely at a range of integration programmes, assessed the implications for the schools themselves and gave guidance on the practical constraints and problems which arose, including those of pupil reaction. I hope that schools which are planning integration programmes will study this report very carefully.