Inclusive education and special educational needs

26 April 2011

Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers' union said;

“The provision of well resourced and funded Special Educational Needs (SEN) provision in our schools is vital. It is also of great importance that teachers feel they have access to the training that they need.

“Simply providing on-line training for new teachers, as the Government has proposed, is not a solution to the successful inclusion of pupils with SEN. All teachers need access to high quality training supported by local authority SEN support staff, whose expertise is invaluable to schools and parents.

“Local authority budgets have been drastically cut and the NUT is greatly concerned that SEN provision in our schools will suffer.

“There needs to be appropriate provision to meet each pupil's needs in a setting that enables every pupil to enjoy, and benefit from, the whole of school life. This is the essence of inclusion, and is what teachers work hard to provide.

“Mainstream and special schools should build on the development of strong local networks sharing responsibility for the success of all the children and young people in their area. The academies programme will present a threat to such collaborative initiatives. This will be to the detriment of SEN provision in schools.

“The Government is setting up 'inclusion' to fail if it is not adequately funded. Proper investment in high quality, fully inclusive education is long overdue. To do otherwise is nothing short of a dereliction of duty to some of the most vulnerable pupils in our schools”

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