Our government in the UK had rather a hairbrained idea a few years back and decided that kids with special needs did not need to be in their own schools but instead, the special schools should all be closed down and the SEN kids should all be integrated into the mainstream public schools. Well what an idiotic idea! I'm all for inclusion and yes, if a child has a learning difficulty or special need but would benefit from a mainstream school education, then they should certainly not be denied that choice to go into the mainstream sector. The trouble is that kids in the kinds of school where I used to work need that one to one care in a completely different environment to mainstream education. One to one intensive interaction with a completely different curriculum structure. Yes, it would certainly hold back the mainstream kids because the SEN kids need extra care, but it would also hold back the SEN kids because they need that extra special care and individual treatment, which I very mch doubt that the government can quite understand. This resulted in me being told that my job was at risk and I would have to be prepared to move to a mainstream school and give a more broad scope of care to multiple kids of differing abilities. Have you had a similar experience? Do you think that some of these politicians should really spend a week in a school for the more severe SEN because then they would actually understand the high level of care and individuality that these kids need to really bring out their personality and help them develop.
