§ Mr. Nigel JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what his policy is on the inclusion in mainstream schools of children with special educational needs; and if he will make a statement. [96463]
§ Jacqui SmithPromoting inclusion within mainstream schools, where parents want it and appropriate support can be provided, is a cornerstone of the Government's special educational needs strategy. The education of children with special needs is a key challenge for the nation, and critical to the creation of a fully inclusive society. There are strong educational, as well as social and moral, grounds for educating pupils with special needs or disabilities with their peers.
Where parents want a mainstream setting for their child our policy is to try to provide it. We are providing, this year, £8 million through the Standards Fund and £20 million through the Schools Access Initiative to promote inclusion. Equally, when parents want a specialist setting for their child it is important that their wishes are respected. Our approach has been practical, not dogmatic. We are advocating inclusion by choice and have underlined that there remains a continuing and vital role for special schools. The key objective must be to safeguard the interests of all children and to ensure that they achieve to their full potential.
§ Mr. Nigel JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will list for each local education authority(a) the number of pupils with moderate learning difficulties and (b) the proportion who were taught in special schools in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available. [96498]
§ Jacqui SmithCentral statistics giving details of the number of pupils by type of special educational need are not collected.
§ Mr. Nigel JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assessment he has made of the research by Professor Alan Dyson of Newcastle-upon-Tyne University on the benefits to children with moderate learning difficulties of attending mainstream schools. [96507]
§ Jacqui SmithThe report highlighted the wide variations which exist in the access to, and the quality of, provision for pupils with special educational needs. Working together to better meet special educational needs is a key message within the SEN programme of action. Spearheading action under this theme is the expansion of the SEN regional co-ordination projects to cover the whole of England by April 2000. The projects are encouraging local authorities to work with each other, the68W voluntary and private sectors and other partners to better plan and meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs and to standardise provision.
§ Mr. Nigel JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what additional support he plans to give to(a) mainstream schools and (b) special schools for children with special educational needs. [96478]
§ Jacqui SmithOur Programme of Action on Special Educational Needs, published in November 1998, is an integral part of our strategy for improving all schools. Measures in it will develop the existing statutory framework and procedures, building on experience and best practice. They aim to shift the emphasis from procedures to practical support. It is a measure of the priority we are giving to children with SEN that we have virtually doubled—to £35 million—the targeted support for SEN under the Standards Fund in 1999–2000. We have also increased five-fold the capital support under the Schools Access Initiative, from the £4 million we inherited in 1997–98, to £20 million in 1999–2000. We are planning further big increases to the SEN Standards Fund and the Schools Access Initiative for the following two years. This specific funding for SEN is in addition to the very substantial increases in the overall resources available to schools.