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Education and Inspections Bill

I have three amendments in this area to be dealt with later, so I shall be brief. I recall going to a large gathering of primary head teachers on the subject of children with special educational needs and whether they should go to special schools or whether we should pursue a policy of inclusion. There was a strong ethos: ““Inclusion is right””. I was a coward; I did not object. But it occurred to me then that a primary school does not have the breadth of expertise to respond to the different requirements of children with special educational needs. The Minister has a reputation for listening. I hope that he will take away the issues ventilated here tonight and reflect on them tomorrow in the context of the Select Committee’s report, which we have not yet seen. I suspect this is an area where we must think hard and do much.