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Education and Inspections Bill

We come to the issue of special educational needs and you will know, Madam Deputy Speaker, that it was debated at some length in Committee and, indeed, in the other place. That is no surprise, as SEN is an important matter, in which Conservatives take a particular interest. I have been interested in the subject for many years, including when I was a county councillor before I entered the House. Lords amendment No. 69 requires governing bodies to appoint a special educational needs co-ordinator, as the Minister has explained. He is right that the provision follows recommendations from the Select Committee report. The co-ordinator would clearly improve SEN provision in a school by drawing together the necessary expertise and resources to do the job. The vital role of the SENCO was underlined by the Select Committee, which said:"““Special educational needs co-ordinators (SENCOs) should be in all cases be qualified teachers and in a senior management position in the school as recommended in the SEN Code of Practice. Firmer guidelines are required rather than the Government asking schools to ‘have regard to’ the SEN Code of Practice. The role and position of a SENCO must reflect the central priority that SEN should hold within schools.””" It is good that the Government adopted that recommendation, but it is partly a response to the problems of the policy of inclusion that the Government have rigorously pursued. To make myself quite clear, many children with special educational needs prosper and do well in mainstream schools, which take their responsibilities in that regard seriously. I have many SEN children in my constituency and I am sure that other hon. Members do, too. They are integrated into mainstream schools at both primary and secondary level and their education is of the highest standard. However, as the teaching unions and others have recognised, balancing the various aspects of education, where excellence is required, is difficult. It is critical that needs and targets are balanced, that resources are put in place and that schools are co-ordinated appropriately. I wonder whether it would have been better if the Government saw the problem as part of a broader review of the SEN system. When that was suggested in the other place, it was opposed by the Government and the minor parties, including the Liberal Democrats. I say that because we know that many teachers and head teachers in mainstream schools recognise the fact that some of the children integrated into those schools would do better elsewhere. We know from the survey conducted by The Times Educational Supplement in 2005 that teachers believe that up to 25,000 children who are in mainstream education in England and Wales would be better off in special schools.