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UK/Ireland: "CRISIS" in special education

Oct 24, 2024, Phys.Org: There's a crisis in special educational needs provision: Here's the situation across the UK and Ireland

In the UK and Ireland, children who have significant special educational needs and disabilities can receive their education outside mainstream school. This often takes place in "special schools" or "special classes."


In the UK, as well as the Republic of Ireland, legislation sets out that children have the right Oyto attend mainstream education. This right cannot be refused based on the complexity of the child's needs. However, many children are educated in specialist schools, and the devolved governments of the UK, and Ireland, have taken differing approaches to this provision.


But there is a problem. Across the UK and Ireland, there are far fewer places available in specialist schools and classes for the number of children identified with needs significant enough to warrant a place.


England


In 2010, then-prime minister David Cameron set out the aim to "end the bias" towards including children with special educational needs and disabilities in mainstream schools.

His government felt there had been an overemphasis on inclusion in mainstream schools. As a consequence, England has seen an expansion of specialist education provision. From 2015 to 2023, there has been a 47% increase in the number of pupils at special schools in England—from 109,177 to 161,072.
However, as of May 2024, 4,407 children across England were waiting for school places in specialist provision.

There has also been a large increase in the number of appeals against councils by parents or caregivers of children with special educational needs in England, challenging the decision made around a child's school placement and provision.


A new report from the National Audit Office on special educational needs suggests that the current system in England is unsustainable, with many councils set to run out of money by early 2026.

Wales


Wales has also seen a 25% increase in special school provision from 2017–18 to 2023–24.

. . .


Scotland


Scotland has taken a different route. Here, the legal right to mainstream schooling has been taken a step further: there is an underlying "presumption of mainstreaming,," in other words, a right to attend a mainstream school, although exceptions in which a specialist provision should be considered are set out.


This presumption of mainstreaming means that there has been a reduction in the number of special schools. However, alongside this there has been an increase in the proportion of children not spending time in mainstream classes.


This implies that more children are being educated in units attached to mainstream schools, without necessarily participating in mainstream classes. A recent review has raised concerns that the children with additional support needs in mainstream schools are not having their needs met.


Northern Ireland


The number of children with a statement of special educational needs in Northern Ireland increased by 24% in the five years from 2017–18 to 2021–22. A Department of Education official recently told the Education Committee of the NI Assembly that there was a need for an additional 1,000 places for children with SEN. This would require 66 new special school classes and 94 new specialist classes in mainstream schools. . . .


Republic of Ireland


In the Irish Republic, there has been a dramatic increase in demand for specialist provision. There has also been an increase in the number of special schools in recent years, from 123 in 2018–19 to 134 in 2024–25, and further schools are planned.


However, the challenges experienced by children with SEN in accessing school places continues. Some children are receiving home tuition grants because they don't have a school place, and even more students are waiting to secure a place for the school year 2024–25. To address this, the minister for education in Ireland is now able to compel schools to open special classes under amended legislation. . . .



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