Olwyn Gunn
Two new sets of regulations relating to special needs in the early years and primary phases come into force this academic year. One is the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act, which became law in May and will lead to a Code of Practice by 2002. The other, more imminent, is the revised Code of Practice for Special Educational Needs, which should have been implemented as of September 2001 - but since the document was not available to schools by the end of last term, the DfES has had to extend its deadline. Olwyn Gunn, a former nursery and primary head who now directs the education and equality department at NASUWT, has designed a seminar as an overview to alert early years and primary teachers to the implications of the new rules.
"The key issues are about staffing, resources and training," she says. "A likely consequence of the new rules is that teachers will be required to cater for a wider range of special needs than they do at present, but there has been no commitment by the government to provide extra resources to match."
Special needs provision is already expanding, with more children being diagnosed, and more categories being recognised - from dyslexia and attention deficit syndrome to the catch-all emotional and behavioural difficulty (EBD). Both the new documents stress the importance of inclusion, so the requirement to provide specialist teaching in mainstream education is likely to increase.
"The special needs co-ordinators I meet often tell me they do not have the support they need, either in the classroom or administratively," Olwyn says. "Some primary SENCOs have no non-contact time at all, so meetings with external consultants and the paperwork involved in assessments and individual education plans has to be done out of school time."
The new regulations also emphasise the importance of consulting not just parents but children themselves about the most appropriate type of education. Education authorities will be obliged to offer flexible arrangements tailored to individual needs, right from when a child's needs are identified, which may be when they are in a nursery or earlier.
"Teachers and heads need to look very closely at this new legislation," Olwyn says.
* The Revised Code of Practice for Special Educational Needs and the implications for teachers. Sponsored by NASUWT. Ref 11, 10. Friday, October 5, 3pm
See page 15 for the full seminar and training programme. To book contact the ticket hotline on 01923 690646 or book online at www.under12s.co.uk.
