• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • About DNS
  • Subscribe to DNS
  • Advertise with DNS
  • Support DNS
  • Contact DNS

Disability News Service

the country's only news agency specialising in disability issues

  • Home
  • Independent Living
    • Arts, Culture and Sport
    • Crime
    • Education
    • Employment
    • Housing
    • Transport
  • Activism & Campaigning
  • Benefits & Poverty
  • Politics
  • Human Rights
You are here: Home / News Archive / Inclusion fears over SEN pilot projects

Inclusion fears over SEN pilot projects

By guest on 2nd September 2011 Category: News Archive

Listen

Campaigners will try to convince local authorities testing out new government policies on special educational needs (SEN) to take an inclusive approach, despite the coalition’s “hostile” stance on including disabled children in mainstream schools.

Sarah Teather, the Liberal Democrat children’s minister, this week announced 20 “pathfinder” schemes across England that will test out proposals in the special educational needs and disability green paper, which was published in March.

The Alliance for Inclusive Education (ALLFIE) has warned that measures in the green paper would set the fight for inclusive education back 20 years.

ALLFIE believes the green paper proposals would “dismantle” the framework of support for disabled learners, and cut the number of children identified as needing that support.

It also believes the proposals would create “many more hurdles” for parents to overcome in finding a school and securing an assessment of their children’s needs and funding for support, and would provide fewer opportunities for challenging the system.

The new pathfinder areas cover 31 local authority areas and the councils’ primary care trust partners.

Among the proposals to be tested are plans for disabled children to have their own education, health and care plan, lasting from birth to the age of 25.

Another is for disabled children and those with SEN to have their support delivered through personal budgets.

Tara Flood, ALLFIE’s director, said she and other campaigners felt they were confronting a “hostile situation”, with the coalition having pledged to “end the bias towards the inclusion of children with special needs in mainstream schools”.

Flood said: “The worry for us is the lack of aspiration in the green paper. It is starting from a negative position.

“There are 20 [pathfinders] and we are going to do all that we can to try and push them to include inclusive practice and inclusive thinking as their pilots roll out, but I think it is going to be very difficult because they are working within parameters set by the Department for Education.”

22 September 2011

Share this post:

Share on X (Twitter)Share on FacebookShare on WhatsAppShare on RedditShare on LinkedIn
A photograph shows an audience raising their hands in a BSL sign. The words say: 'BSL Conference 2025. The future starts with us. Leeds 17-18 July. Secure your ticket today and be part of shaping the future of Deaf cultures and identities.

Related

‘Muddled’ blue badge reforms ‘are to blame for renewal delays’
6th February 2015
UN debate will be reminder of true inclusive education
6th February 2015
IDS breaks pledge on PIP waiting-times, as tens of thousands still queue for months
30th January 2015

Primary Sidebar

On the left of the image are multiple heads of different colours - white, aqua, red, light brown, and dark green - all grouped together, then the words ‘Campaign for Disability Justice. Sign up to support. #OpportunitySecurityRespect’
A photograph shows an audience raising their hands in a BSL sign. The words say: 'BSL Conference 2025. The future starts with us. Leeds 17-18 July. Secure your ticket today and be part of shaping the future of Deaf cultures and identities.

Access

Latest Stories

Government offers three clues that it is set to plough ahead with cuts to disability benefits

‘Real danger’ that disabled people will not benefit from £39 billion for social and affordable homes

Self-driving taxis that are not accessible will be allowed pilot scheme licenses, government suggests

Insurance industry silent over whether it lobbied DWP to cut disability benefits

We will keep fighting, disabled activists warn DWP as they protest against benefit cuts outside Tate Modern

Labour government faces questions over why it stuffed access to elected office committee with Tories

Disabled students set to protest over cuts in support

DWP hides truth from coroner on exactly what happened in lead-up to Jodey Whiting’s suicide

Call for public inquiry into deaths after coroner rules suicide was ‘triggered’ by DWP

Coroner finds DWP’s decisions and safeguarding failings were ‘trigger’ for suicide of Jodey Whiting

Advice and Information

Readspeaker
A photograph shows an audience raising their hands in a BSL sign. The words say: 'BSL Conference 2025. The future starts with us. Leeds 17-18 July. Secure your ticket today and be part of shaping the future of Deaf cultures and identities.

Footer

The International Standard Serial Number for Disability News Service is: ISSN 2398-8924

  • Accessibility Statement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Site map
  • Bluesky
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Threads
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2025 Disability News Service

Site development by A Bright Clear Web