HANDICAPPED CHILDREN: INTEGRATION INTO SCHOOLS (Hansard, 10 February 1983)

§ The Earl of Swinton

Section 2 of the Education Act 1981, which will come into force on 1st April 1983, requires that, where certain conditions are fulfilled, children with special educational needs shall be educated in ordinary schools. 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. The Department of Education and Science and HM Inspectorate are encouraging teacher training institutions and validating bodies to incoporate material on special educational needs into initial courses. There is a wide range of in-service training provision available for teachers responsible for the education of children with special educational needs, including long full-time or part-time courses at teacher training institutions, short courses provided by LEAs and their advisory services, regional courses funded by the Department of Education and Science and short courses organised by HM Inspectors. Meeting special educational needs in ordinary schools is one of the four priority areas to be supported by the new scheme of specific grants for in-service teacher training. 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 educational needs in ordinary schools, and two reports have been published. They look closely at the range of integration programmes, assess the implications for the schools themselves and give guidance on the practical constraints and problems which arise, including those of pupils' reaction. Plans for further research by the NFER to assist ordinary schools to make better provision for pupils with special educational needs are under consideration.