Take part in special educational needs school consultation

10.46.36am GMT Mon 8th Mar 2010

• RESIDENTS are being encouraged to have their say on plans for the future of education for secondary age pupils with special educational needs (SEN), in a consultation launched by Richmond Council this week.

The consultation outlines proposals for future delivery at each of the borough's secondary schools, which looks to align provision more closely to the needs of local children.

Cllr Malcolm Eady, Cabinet Member for Children's Services and Culture on Richmond Council, said: "The aim of the proposals is to give parents more choice of where they send their children to school. We also want to reduce the number of families currently relying on out of borough or independent placements. We know that the needs of local young people with special educational needs are changing. In particular there has been a significant drop in the number of students with moderate and severe learning difficulties.

At the same time, there has been a rise in the number with autistic spectrum conditions and speech and language difficulties. Services in the future need to reflect this. We would like to see young people with SEN having their needs met in mainstream schools whenever suitable, and we will be enhancing specialist teaching arrangements to do this. This will provide parents more choice alongside the borough's two highly-rated special schools, Strathmore and Clarendon, which are a key part of our SEN provision. Stability for the present students is a top priority and many of the proposals will not mean significant changes for individual children. We are keen to hear as many views as possible."

Related Link:

• SEN consultation