Inclusive and Special Education

Inclusion is a process that accommodates to the educational, social and emotional needs of children,
young people and families. The inclusive process can incorporate a range of specialized provision
that can be accessed according to need. A key factor that determines the success, of inclusive
provision is the training of staff, and the impact of that training in the planning, differentiation and
presentation of the curriculum. (Reid, 2011).

The aim of my presentation was to discuss and elaborate on Inclusion with my focus rimarily on the
1981 Education Act and also the link between Special Educational Needs (SEN) and Provision and
what the SEN Code of Practice did to make it a fairer society and who helps pupils who are
established with SEN. The Warnock report (DfES, 1978) and the subsequent 1981 Education Act
represented the first attempt in the United Kingdom to take a synoptic view of the whole field of
special education and to present a coherent philosophy.

The 1981 Education Act introduced the system of a statutory multi-disciplinary assessment that could
lead to the Local Education Authority (LEA) issuing a statement of special educational needs. Before
the 1981 Education Act came into force on 1st April 1983, the provision of special educational
services in England and Wales was formulated from the 1944 Education Act. However, this Act then
introduced ideas of special educational needs (SEN), statement of SEN, and integrative approach'
which later became known as an 'inclusive approach'.

Inclusive approach is based on common educational goals for all children regardless of their abilities
or disabilities. The 1981 Education Act amended section 36 of the 1944 Education Act by imposing
upon Local Educational Authorities (LEAS) a basic educational duty to ensure that very child received
full-time education that was not only 'suitable to his age, ability, and aptitude', but also to any special
educational needs he may have'. (Alan, J, Marsh, 15).

Furthermore, it broadened the concept of special educational needs to include any child whose
learning difficulty called for special educational provision, and made it the duty of governors of
ordinary schools to use their 'best endeavors' to provide appropriate in-house support. The Green
Paper (DfEE, 1997b) provides numerical evidence to support the notion that inclusion had still not
increased: Across the ountry as a whole, some 98,000 pupils are educated in maintained or non-
maintained special schools, a number which has been virtually constant throughout the 1990s. p45. ).
Furthermore, more recent statistics provided by the DfES (2002) demonstrate that between 1997 and
2002 the total number of pupils in maintained or non-maintained special schools, including those with
and without statements, fell from 98,200 to 94,500. Special educational needs only make sense in a
context ot provision and t inadequacy of what is regarded to be normal levels of provision. Under the
1981 Act hat establishes a child, as having special educational needs is that he or she requires
special educational provision.
It does not talk about the innate characteristics of the child but about the schooling that the child
receives and how they respond to it. For example, if a child is labeled as having 'special educational
needs' for instance learning difficulties, which then calls for special educational provision to be made
for that particular child then there is a direct link between having special educational needs and
special educational provision. The net result is that special educational needs are provision-led rather
than child-led. Seamus Hegarty). It will depend on the LEAs if such provision will be made.

The LEAs will have two options the first option being to conclude that the child's needs can be met
from the resources available at the school or the second option would be to provide the child with a
Statement of Special Educational Needs. The main differences between the first and second options
is that in the former the provision to be made has to come from resources already available to the
school even though, the aim in both cases will be the same which is to 'provide and meet the child's
needs, as identified, fully and appropriately (Ahmad F RamJhun, (2002).

Moreover, with the second option, the LEA provides a Statement of Special Educational Needs which
is a legal document that has six parts for example, part 3 would focus on the special education
provision to be made, including details of broad teaching objectives, the level of staffing support to be
made available and the monitoring and reviewing arrangements. The revised SEN Code of Practice
(DfES, 2001) has been effective since 1st January 2002 and in England it replaces the original 1994
Code.

The SEN Code of Practice is to give practical guidance' and advice to LEAS, governing bodies of
state schools and overnment funded Early Years settings and to all who help them (e. g. health and
social services) to meet their responsibilities for children and young people with special educational
needs. It is a statutory requirement that all these bodies must take into account what the Code says
when making decision. However, the Code does not prescribe what should happen in each individual
case.

The Warnock Report effectively made the first step towards involving parents in their child's special
education and in establishing the principle of professionals working in partnership with parents. The
term 'parents' includes any one who has the parental esponsibility for example, foster care.
Partnership with parents is one of the guiding principles in the SEN Code of Practice. Parents should
be informed and involved at all stages so there should never be a situation where parents are
unaware that their child is experiencing difficulties.

There are three crucial roles in school to support pupils with special educational needs. The first
being the class teacher, the class or subject teacher will report any concerns to the head teacher or to
the SENCO, keep records of progress and keep parents informed and involved. However, for some
tudents their special educational needs may only become apparent after a period of time for this
reason assessment should be a continual process for early identification.

The SENCO nas a key role in the management ot S N provision in a school and Early Years setting
and generally takes responsibility for the day-to-day management of this. Other responsibilities
include liaison with colleagues in the school, parents and outside agencies and the general co-
ordination of SEN provision in the school.
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