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Special Educational Needs

My hon. Friend is a powerful advocate for that school, and I hope that he is successful in his campaign. He is right in what he says. I can cite other cases. I want to a Percy Hedley Foundation school in Newcastle, which looks after children with severe cerebral palsy. The work that it does with those children to re-teach their brains how to use their limbs means that many of them will be able to walk and learn how to communicate using a computer. If they were simply in a mainstream setting, none of those skills would reach those children and they would be severely disadvantaged as a consequence. I also know young adults with mild cerebral palsy who can survive perfectly well in a mainstream setting if they have the right facilities for wheelchairs and communication equipment. Such children thrive, and go on to take degrees at university. However, we should be careful if we are trying to close provisions such as the ones that my hon. Friend mentioned. In conclusion, it is important that parents’ views are paramount and that they have real choices of provision for their children. In addition, local authorities should inform parents of the special school provision available and the statementing process should be as swift, fair and efficient as possible. As the hon. Member for Blackpool, South (Mr. Marsden) said, the Government should aim higher, faster, and stronger. That should be the objective of any Government in this particular field.