§ Mr. Hannamasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he will respond to the recommendations for the training of further education staff with responsibilities for special educational needs made in his report "A Special Professionalism."
§ Mr. DunnThis report, the result of a study sponsored by the Department, puts forward a set of training programmes to meet the requirements of groups of staff with different degrees of special needs involvement, as its core recommendation. As the report recognises the full possibilities envisaged could be achieved only over the longer term. The Government will carefully consider these, and any steps that might be taken meantime. It has encouraged the development of some of the programmes by designating special needs training for local authority advisers, college managers and special needs co-ordinators as a national priority area for local education authority training grants in the present financial year. I am pleased to report that the Manpower Services Commission has alocated £40,000 to the further education unit for the development of a programme for mainstream teaching staff with a major special needs involvement in collaboration with the National Bureau for Handicapped Students.