Miss-Delectable
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http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/features/story.jsp?story=647456
Baroness Warnock, in a pamphlet to be published later this month, is calling for a fundamental re-thinking of the concept of inclusion, in which children with physical or emotional difficulties are encouraged to be taught in mainstream schools.
The architect of the special needs education system now believes that, although it may have been right in the 1970s, inclusion has been taken too far and may no longer be appropriate for the early 21st century.
In 1984 there were 1,548 special schools in England and the number has now fallen by 400. The Baroness says: "Governments must come to recognise that, even if inclusion is an ideal for society, it may not always be ideal for school".
The great majority of deaf children are now taught in mainstream schools with various means of assistance (500 in Northern Ireland alone) and, from what I can gather from the Baroness's about-face, she is now maintaining that in this, and similar situations, the help available should be provided by teachers with equivalent skills and experience to those in special schools such as Jordanstown.
Traditionally, deafness has been considered a disability under the so-called 'medical model' and the deaf community insists the 'social model of disability' should replace this. This view places the responsibility for disability on society and its failure to remove the social barriers that exclude deaf and other disadvantaged people from lives as full as their own.
Several years ago, I was one of a small group involved with senior education officials looking into the possibility of increasing the number of 'Deaf Friendly' schools in the province, i.e. places where bright, deaf children could compete on equal terms with hearing peers; where their disability would not be regarded as a problem and all teachers and other staff had been given deaf awareness training and guidance in communication modes.
It has been difficult to judge the success of this measure as the Mary Hare special school in Berkshire is still very popular and attracts many of our bright young deaf in an environment that combines high academic achievement with a public school spirit in the company of a dedicated and experienced staff and 200 like-minded young folk with whom they can relax at the end of the day.
My wife lost her hearing from mumps when aged five and, apart from a few years at the private school where she met me, all her schooling took place in ordinary mainstream schools without any of the help now available. For pupils who can cope, this is definitely the best way forward.
Yes, inclusion is fine when the deaf pupil can keep up with the lessons but, as the report notes: "the policy of inclusion meant pupils who needed special help were subjected to the rigours of the national curriculum and testing. So the most vulnerable experienced failure over and over again - and not surprisingly became discouraged and disillusioned".
Mainstream schools compete on exam results so better schools are sometimes unwilling to take on children with special needs. One writer suggests that requiring all schools to take their fair share would dramatically help.
As I was writing this, word arrived from the Department for Employment and Learning that this year's Personal Achievement Award has been won by Richard Beattie from Belfast. Profoundly deaf from birth, Richard has determinedly worked towards his childhood dream of becoming a plumber and, after applying unsuccessfully to 33 companies seeking an apprenticeship, is now near the end of his training and in full-time employment.
Baroness Warnock, in a pamphlet to be published later this month, is calling for a fundamental re-thinking of the concept of inclusion, in which children with physical or emotional difficulties are encouraged to be taught in mainstream schools.
The architect of the special needs education system now believes that, although it may have been right in the 1970s, inclusion has been taken too far and may no longer be appropriate for the early 21st century.
In 1984 there were 1,548 special schools in England and the number has now fallen by 400. The Baroness says: "Governments must come to recognise that, even if inclusion is an ideal for society, it may not always be ideal for school".
The great majority of deaf children are now taught in mainstream schools with various means of assistance (500 in Northern Ireland alone) and, from what I can gather from the Baroness's about-face, she is now maintaining that in this, and similar situations, the help available should be provided by teachers with equivalent skills and experience to those in special schools such as Jordanstown.
Traditionally, deafness has been considered a disability under the so-called 'medical model' and the deaf community insists the 'social model of disability' should replace this. This view places the responsibility for disability on society and its failure to remove the social barriers that exclude deaf and other disadvantaged people from lives as full as their own.
Several years ago, I was one of a small group involved with senior education officials looking into the possibility of increasing the number of 'Deaf Friendly' schools in the province, i.e. places where bright, deaf children could compete on equal terms with hearing peers; where their disability would not be regarded as a problem and all teachers and other staff had been given deaf awareness training and guidance in communication modes.
It has been difficult to judge the success of this measure as the Mary Hare special school in Berkshire is still very popular and attracts many of our bright young deaf in an environment that combines high academic achievement with a public school spirit in the company of a dedicated and experienced staff and 200 like-minded young folk with whom they can relax at the end of the day.
My wife lost her hearing from mumps when aged five and, apart from a few years at the private school where she met me, all her schooling took place in ordinary mainstream schools without any of the help now available. For pupils who can cope, this is definitely the best way forward.
Yes, inclusion is fine when the deaf pupil can keep up with the lessons but, as the report notes: "the policy of inclusion meant pupils who needed special help were subjected to the rigours of the national curriculum and testing. So the most vulnerable experienced failure over and over again - and not surprisingly became discouraged and disillusioned".
Mainstream schools compete on exam results so better schools are sometimes unwilling to take on children with special needs. One writer suggests that requiring all schools to take their fair share would dramatically help.
As I was writing this, word arrived from the Department for Employment and Learning that this year's Personal Achievement Award has been won by Richard Beattie from Belfast. Profoundly deaf from birth, Richard has determinedly worked towards his childhood dream of becoming a plumber and, after applying unsuccessfully to 33 companies seeking an apprenticeship, is now near the end of his training and in full-time employment.