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Emma21

parents must Police their LEA's DR LADYMAN

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Hi all,

A few weeks back a few of you mentioned the quote made by Dr Ladyman which stated that "parents must police their LEA'S". I am including the quote in my dissertation but I am stuck because I dont know where the quote came from and also the date? Does anybody know of the correct source for the quote?

Thanks soo much

Emma

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I think that this is what you are talking about Emma.

 

Oracle

 

Minister defends special needs school policy

 

Press Association

Thursday February 17, 2005

 

 

The health minister Stephen Ladyman today defended government efforts to cater for children with special educational needs.

Mr Ladyman insisted that the government does not have a policy to close special schools, although it believed that most children with special needs can be helped most effectively within mainstream education.

 

He made his remarks the day after Maria Hutchings, the mother of an autistic child, took the opportunity as a member of the studio audience for a live televised interview to harangue the prime minister, Tony Blair, over the closure of special needs schools.

 

Mr Ladyman urged parents to subject local authorities to careful scrutiny to ensure that when their children were placed in mainstream schools, they get the support they require.

 

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We have always made it clear that although generally speaking educationalists believe that mainstream education is better, it should be based on the needs of each individual child and the wishes of the parent should be a very important factor in deciding which school a child goes to.

 

"The first thing we have to get right is spotting autism much earlier, intervening earlier, and then making choices which are dependent on the needs of each individual child."

 

He added: "What each education authority has a duty to do is to review its balance between its special school provision and its mainstream provision and make sure it has got the right number of places for its local population.

 

"That of course always leads to these difficult arguments about rationalising special schools in some cases. But that is not a policy of the government, to close those special schools. Those are decisions taken by local education authorities, sometimes mistakenly possibly, but with the best of intentions, to get the right balance between the needs of their population and provision."

 

Mr Ladyman acknowledged that schools do not always succeed in identifying and providing the correct support.

 

"It doesn't happen all the time. I encourage people who are having this experience to download from the Department for Education [and Skills] website a copy of their best practice guidance and use their experience to judge the way that their local education authority is behaving.

 

"It is only by learning, from comparing actual practice with best practice guidance, that we can improve the situation in all local education authorities so that children do get the support they need in mainstream schools when that is the decision that has been taken for them."

 

But the shadow education secretary, Tim Collins, told the programme he believed the government's policy of including special needs children in mainstream schools has gone too far.

 

Mr Collins said: "I think it is clear that the present policy, of a very strong presumption in favour of inclusion, is not working.

 

"That is why we are advocating both dropping that presumption, imposing a moratorium on the closure of special schools, and I think we also need to look at the whole statementing process, because many parents feel they have to fight to get the treatment for their children. That can't be right."

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I think that this is what you are talking about Emma.

 

Oracle

 

Minister defends special needs school policy

 

Press Association

Thursday February 17, 2005

The health minister Stephen Ladyman today defended government efforts to cater for children with special educational needs.

Mr Ladyman insisted that the government does not have a policy to close special schools, although it believed that most children with special needs can be helped most effectively within mainstream education.

 

He made his remarks the day after Maria Hutchings, the mother of an autistic child, took the opportunity as a member of the studio audience for a live televised interview to harangue the prime minister, Tony Blair, over the closure of special needs schools.

 

Mr Ladyman urged parents to subject local authorities to careful scrutiny to ensure that when their children were placed in mainstream schools, they get the support they require.

 

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We have always made it clear that although generally speaking educationalists believe that mainstream education is better, it should be based on the needs of each individual child and the wishes of the parent should be a very important factor in deciding which school a child goes to.

 

"The first thing we have to get right is spotting autism much earlier, intervening earlier, and then making choices which are dependent on the needs of each individual child."

 

He added: "What each education authority has a duty to do is to review its balance between its special school provision and its mainstream provision and make sure it has got the right number of places for its local population.

 

"That of course always leads to these difficult arguments about rationalising special schools in some cases. But that is not a policy of the government, to close those special schools. Those are decisions taken by local education authorities, sometimes mistakenly possibly, but with the best of intentions, to get the right balance between the needs of their population and provision."

 

Mr Ladyman acknowledged that schools do not always succeed in identifying and providing the correct support.

 

"It doesn't happen all the time. I encourage people who are having this experience to download from the Department for Education [and Skills] website a copy of their best practice guidance and use their experience to judge the way that their local education authority is behaving.

 

"It is only by learning, from comparing actual practice with best practice guidance, that we can improve the situation in all local education authorities so that children do get the support they need in mainstream schools when that is the decision that has been taken for them."

 

But the shadow education secretary, Tim Collins, told the programme he believed the government's policy of including special needs children in mainstream schools has gone too far.

 

Mr Collins said: "I think it is clear that the present policy, of a very strong presumption in favour of inclusion, is not working.

 

"That is why we are advocating both dropping that presumption, imposing a moratorium on the closure of special schools, and I think we also need to look at the whole statementing process, because many parents feel they have to fight to get the treatment for their children. That can't be right."

 

Hi,

Thank u soo much for your help! I really really appreciate it.

Emma

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