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Education and Inspections Bill

My Lords, I do not propose to say a great deal about this, because I intend to say a lot more about the range of special needs provision when we come to the group that begins with Amendment No. 81; and I do not want to weary the House by saying it all twice. Your Lordships will have to be patient. Although I have a great deal of sympathy with what the noble Baroness, Lady Buscombe, has said, we are not minded to support the amendment for a number of reasons. Of course, children with special needs are some of the most vulnerable children in our system, and of course their needs must be appropriately met. That word ““appropriately”” is very pertinent. There is more than one way of meeting those needs appropriately and in the best interests of the child; and that phrase must be at the heart of our discussions. There may be some considerable benefit in having a review of the statementing process and the way in which resources are directed towards the child. The Minister will have heard us talk many times about how that can be achieved—with pupil premiums and by directing additional assistance to those children who really need it in the schools that they attend. Those may be mainstream schools and there are many examples of where properly resourced mainstream schools can provide education in the best interests of children with special needs. It is the emphasis of the noble Baroness’s review that we do not support, particularly where she asks that it, "““seek the views of parents of children with special educational needs””." We do not think that one should not do that. Of course one should, but it is not possible to close a special school without obtaining those views—and I do not know any local authority that would not. There would be an outcry if it tried to get away with not taking on board the views of those parents. Closing a special school is of enormous interest to the parents of the children attending the school and those children who may attend it in future. They will certainly make their views heard. I do not know of a local authority that would not be forced to hear those views, even if it was unwilling, which most are not. If the Minister can reassure us that he will have a careful look at the way the statementing process works—it is too bureaucratic and stressful for children—and at the way resources are directed towards the children who need them most, we will not support the amendment. If he cannot give us that assurance, perhaps we may reconsider.