DfEE Green Paper (22/10/1997) - The principle of inclusion

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4 Increasing inclusion

The principle of inclusion

1. We want to see more pupils with SEN included within mainstream primary and secondary schools. We support the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Salamanca World Statement on Special Needs Education 1994. This calls on governments to adopt the principle of inclusive education, enrolling all children in regular schools, unless there are compelling reasons for doing otherwise. That implies the progressive extension of the capacity of mainstream schools to provide for children with a wide range of needs.

2. The needs of individual children are paramount. Where these cannot currently be met in mainstream schools, specialist provision should be available. But it should not be assumed that all children requiring specialist provision at a particular time will do so permanently, nor that the current capacity of mainstream schools to respond to their needs cannot be extended. We want to develop an education system in which specialist provision is seen as an integral part of overall provision, aiming wherever possible to return children to the mainstream and to increase the skills and resources available in mainstream schools. We therefore want to strengthen links between special and mainstream schools, and to ensure that LEA support services are used to support mainstream placements.

3. Inclusion is a process, not a fixed state. By inclusion, we mean not only that pupils with SEN should wherever possible receive their education in a mainstream school, but also that they should join fully with their peers in the curriculum and life of the school. For example, we believe that - taking account of any normal arrangements for setting - children with SEN should generally take part in mainstream lessons rather than being isolated in separate units. But separate provision may be necessary on occasion for specific purposes, and inclusion must encompass teaching and curriculum appropriate to the child's needs. Many schools will need to review and adapt their approaches in order to achieve greater inclusion.

Case study - John Smeaton Community High School, Leeds

John Smeaton Community High School, Leeds, has adopted a policy of working towards inclusive education for all. The school's roll includes students with moderate or severe learning difficulties, visual and hearing impairments and physical difficulties.

The school's 1996 OFSTED report noted that the quality of teaching was a particular strength, with good planning and use of individualised teaching programmes to meet the needs of pupils with SEN. Such pupils were fully integrated into mainstream school life and lessons, and the personal development of all pupils was enhanced as a consequence of the diverse intake of the school.

4. We recognise that there is a variety of views on the sensitive issue of where individual children with SEN might best prosper. We recognise the concerns of some parents about whether and how the needs of their child will be met in a mainstream school. We also recognise that schools and LEAs are at different starting points in considering the issue of inclusion. Our approach will be practical, not dogmatic. Decisions abou t individual children must take account of all their circumstances, not least their educational experiences to date. Parents will continue to have the right to express a preference for a special school where they consider this appropriate to their child's needs.

31/08/2000