Sunday Herald, 08/06/2003

A pupil with special educational needs should be counted as six "ordinary" pupils when calculating class sizes, according to members of Scotland's largest teaching union.

At the annual general meeting of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) in Perth on June 7, delegates warned that a lack of resources and trained staff to cope with some special-needs children was leading to chaotic classrooms and increasing disruption and violence from a number of pupils.

Current policy dictates that the education of pupils with physical or mental disabilities, or social and behavioural difficulties, should take place in mainstream schools wherever possible. However, a recent Audit Scotland report found that the planning for this policy had been patchy and minimal and was often not properly costed.

While many teachers support the principle of social inclusion in the classroom, that should not be at the expense of classmates or even the children with special needs themselves, delegates were told.

By equating each special educational needs (SEN) pupil with six ordinary pupils, the EIS aimed to address the concern that the principle was not being backed up with adequate funding.

In the past, SEN pupils would often have been educated in special schools, but many local authorities are moving away from this model. This means that pupils who would previously have been taught in much smaller classes in special schools are now often taught alongside other pupils in classes of 30 or more (the current class limit is 33).

News Shopper, 29/04/2003

A mother has attacked education chiefs for failing her son, who has not been in school for 18 months due to the fact that he has Asperger's syndrome.

Karen Jones, 49, of Lewisham, in south-east London, says that nine-year-old Charlie needs to be in school to help him with his social problems. Charlie, who was taken out of Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School in October 2001 after being bullied, has now been out of school for 18 months because Lewisham Council has been unable to find him a place.

Mrs Jones said: "I feel disgusted. I want my son in school because he doesn't socialise very well and this is what he needs."

Individuals with Asperger's syndrome, believed by many to be on the high-functioning end of the autistic spectrum, have difficulties getting on with other people and show obsessive or repetitive behaviour.

Three primary schools rejected Charlie and the council only provided him with a home tutor when his condition was diagnosed in May 2002.

Mrs Jones said: "We thought it was pointless to keep going to schools if they would refuse him. It was only when we found out he had the syndrome that the local education authority was forced to provide home tutoring."

A spokesman for the council says that a decision should be made this week on getting Charlie a school place when the case goes before a special-needs panel.

TUSCULUM, Tennessee, USA: The mother of a young boy with autism could land up in jail in a fight with local schools.

Kim Mabry’s son, Jordan, is nearly 10 years old, and appearances would suggest that he is a normal, active fourth grader. But after Jordan was diagnosed with autism in November 1998, a dramatic struggle between Mabry and Metro schools has erupted. The dispute has resulted in, among other things, legal action which threatens to put Mabry behind bars.

In the autumn of 2002, Jordan’s Enhanced Language Resource class of around 17 students was moved from a Tusculum Elementary School classroom to Metro’s Granbery Elementary because, according to Metro School officials, the school could better accommodate the students. It was larger and had more special-education teachers.

Jordan’s private behavioural therapist, Kacy Darnell, has worked with Jordan and often attended classes with him since shortly after he was diagnosed with autism. She was at his side in the days following the move and noticed that the new environment was affecting Jordan’s behaviour. She said increased class sizes and numerous daily transitions could be difficult for a child with Jordan’s condition.

"With big classes, he has no attention span,"  said Darnell. "Not to mention the fact this is two, three weeks into school. It just wasn’t a good situation."

Mabry said school officials at Tusculum had never complained about Darnell’s attendance in Jordan’s classroom. Not so at Granbery. In the months following Jordan’s move to the new school, Mabry says, Granbery principal Lori Donahue complained about Darnell’s presence. But Mabry said the problem had occurred only after Darnell alerted Mabry of schedule and class-size changes, which she then brought up in a conference with Donahue.

Mabry claims that the changes in Jordan’s routine were a violation of his Individual Education Programme (IEP), which personalises educational needs for special-education students.

Metro Schools eventually denied Darnell the right to accompany Jordan to classes, saying that such "supplemental" aid as would be provided by a behaviour therapist must be done by a Metro employee.

Glasgow Herald, 17/03/2003

Scores of Scottish children with special needs face being trapped in the wrong educational programmes because the right to appeal against some assessments is being removed, it was claimed on March 16.

A group representing parents whose children have a range of special educational needs are mounting a campaign against a draft Bill which, the group claims, will weaken their statutory rights.

The parents say children will be stuck with the assessments, carried out by local authorities, which determine the provision pupils receive for conditions such as autism and dyslexia.

The parents say the draft Bill will also effectively offer local authorities a number of "get out of jail free" cards, or opt-outs.

With less than two weeks to go before the end of the consultation period, the Record of Needs Alert (RoNA) group is fighting to bring their cause to the attention of parents, saying that few have been alerted to the consequences of the draft Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Bill.

Despite meetings with Cathy Jamieson, Scotland's Education Minister, RoNA is unconvinced by her argument that the Bill will increase rights of parents and children with special needs.

Steve Law, who has a 10-year-old son with complex additional needs and autism, claims that the Bill removes the authorities' duty to conduct a multi-professional assessment of needs. Instead, they will be obliged to seek information from other agencies only when they think it necessary.

Law also said that the Bill removed the duty on authorities to establish which children had educational needs requiring continuing review and a record of needs. Instead, many who have, or would normally get, a record of needs will be classified as requiring "additional support needs." They will not be entitled to a "co-ordinated support plan" (CSP). Without this plan, they have no legal rights of appeal.

Law said that a new mediation service would be introduced, but its decisions were not legally binding, and a new tribunal system would only be available to children who have a CSP. The authorities would be entitled to be represented by their own legal team. Parents and children would not be entitled to legal aid, posing a financial problem, Law said.

He added that the tribunal would have jurisdiction only over education authorities, so it would not be possible to appeal against some of the elements of a CSP which were provided by a health authority.

Sunanda Docherty's son, Cal, an eight-year-old who is autistic, attends Struan House School in Alloa, a special school. He has been attending on day-release for a year, but it was only after a legal battle that he was placed there.

Docherty has misgivings about the proposals. Cal has a record of needs but, Docherty said, it was "dubious" whether, under the proposed legislation, he would get a CSP.

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Executive said: "It is fundamentally wrong to suggest the draft Bill will weaken the rights of parents and children with additional support needs. It seeks to strengthen, modernise and streamline the current system for identifying and addressing the needs of all children who face a barrier to learning and will ensure they get more support, not less."

Edinburgh Evening News, 17/02/2003

Scotland's first out-of-school club for children with special needs has opened in the capital, Edinburgh.

Kidzcare, at St Crispin’s School near Edinburgh University’s King’s Buildings, has been launched following £100,000 of funding from the Scottish Executive and Edinburgh Council.

Ten pupils have already enrolled, with parents praising the centre for boosting the confidence of their children and allowing mums and dads to return to work. Unlike children in mainstream education, pupils at Kidzcare have a combination of complex learning difficulties and autistic spectrum disorders. They require a higher staff to child ratio, usually one-to-one or one-to-two, rather than the one-to-eight ratio found in mainstream after-school clubs.

Higher staffing costs have made the prospect of such clubs financially unsustainable in the past, but thanks to support from the Scottish Executive’s New Opportunities Fund and the council’s Childcare Strategy Unit, Kidzcare has launched a service described as "much-needed."

Anne Marie Dunn, director of Kidzcare, explained: "The feedback we’ve had from parents and pupils involved has been very positive so far. The kids love being able to play after school and are learning at every opportunity.  All the parents wanted is the same opportunities for their children as parents of mainstream children. They wanted the right to work and have access to affordable, reliable after-school care, safe in the knowledge that their children were given the opportunity to learn about life through play just as any other child. Both of these objectives have already been met through this project. We’ve also got plans to pilot new schemes which will see some of these children take part in Kidzcare’s mainstream after school clubs - something which will benefit both sets of children."

The club offers a soft playroom, a calming sensory room and the chance to visit attractions such as Dynamic Earth and Deep Sea World.

St Crispin’s headteacher, Eunice Murray, said the new club was "meeting real needs for the children and their families."

She added: "We have been working for almost a year now to provide an after-school club and summer holiday play scheme for pupils with special needs. This club provides excellent opportunities for pupils to engage in a range of different activities within a setting that is familiar to them. We are particularly excited about the links which are being built with Kidzcare mainstream clubs. This is of benefit to all the young people and we are hoping that these links can be strengthened over the coming year."