When were Special Schools closed?

[IdaBWells]

I have lived outside the UK for 25 years. My mother was at a teacher at an inner-city primary in the 1970s/80s. Lots of her friends were teachers and her best friend’s DH was an art teacher at a special school in the borough. I am clearly very out of touch but when were all the special schools closed and by who? What were the reasons? Did anything replace them? What happened to the staff and students at the schools?

Still around but they only take those with the most severe difficulties. It's such a shame really.

I'm on the border of 2 Local Authorities. In both of those put together there are 5 special schools, 1 for severe physical disabilities, the other 4 for children with severe learning difficulties. There is nowhere in either County for children who have no or mild learning difficulties but who cannot cope in mainstream.
There is a "hub" in a couple of secondary schools for ASD pupils but going there meant my son would be in a tiny room all day, even for his dinner break. I fail to see how that is inclusive.
We fought for an independent specialist provision out of County where he is thriving. Children travel upwards of 40 miles a day to go there as there is nothing else.
The system is a total disgrace.

Some have changed to being a unit within a ‘normal’ school but still a school in their own right kind of thing.

I wonder how many specialist provision spaces there are in England now compared with 1997?

I worked in SEND for many years, the last eight in a mainstream school with unit provision for Speech, Language and Communication difficulties. Because isn’t the range of options for specialism, the SLCN became ASD, SEMH, LD and so on. Speech therapists, there for a day a
week, weren’t equipped to manage all the different conditions and it was a constant battle to admit the children who would benefit from the provision.

Of course, it was because all other specialist schools weren’t there and somewhere had to take th children. It’s really no good unless there is the specific expertise required. But of course, that’s expensive.

it gets worse post 16. I remember looking at a couple of"normal" colleges. it was awful, the sn students were in a dingy part and did't mix with nt students.
we were lucky that dd stayed in her sn school for 16 plus and went to a brilliant residential college post 19. but this was an massively expensive option.

Tbh there is no way I want my son to be mixing with children with out special needs he is incredibly vulnerable and non verbal there is no way i.want him to be targeted

It started in the 1980s, along with 'care i the community'.

For some it has been an excellent idea, eg Laurence Clark pHD and comedian didn't get much education just cutting up paper shapes and would have fared well in mainstream.

For others it's been a disaster, especially as now funding for support has been cut to nothing.

There were two special schools here when I was a child - one for moderate learning disabilities with 160 pupils, and one for severe with 70.

They wet both closed and merged into one school which has 180 places at primary and 205 at secondary age.

Both are completely full, parents are desperate for places.

My own son has been there since reception. We had to fight for a place. The local authority thought a non-verbal incontinent child who needed constant supervision (including all breaks and lunch time) would cope just fine in mainstream. They really don't like spending the extra money unless they are forced to.

There is no way he would have coped, and it would not have been fair on him or the children who would have had to share a class with him.

He's done fantastically well at his school. He's 16 now and has done entry level exams.

Inclusion is great for some but it should not be seen as perfect for everyone.

I Home educate my youngest as I know he wouldn't cope in a mainstream secondary but there's also no way he would get an EHCP, and there are no schools that take academically able children with autism unless you go through many many battles.

My daughter is in a special school. Took a lot of work to get her there but they're life-changing.

I work in one bit it's on its knees financially, very expensive to run due to class sizes and pupil ratios and additional requirements. It constantly needs to justify its existence. I think it's constantly worrying for SLT.

The Warnock Report from 1978 led to a change from special schools being the norm (with rather an “out of sight out of mind view”) to inclusion being the norm Yes and even the good Baroness Warnock herself said the whole thing was badly executed.

Special schools are still very much around, however the term specialist provision means that what is available is more varied (doesn't mean it's easier to access though as the demand is higher), e.g. specialist schools for ASC, social, emotional and mental health difficulties, deaf children etc. Incidentally in my area two new 'special schools'- for children with significant and profound SEND has been approved and due to open soon.
Children with 'moderate learning difficulties' which would have made up a lot of special school places a decade or two ago, can and should have their needs met within their local mainstream schools, with support of course.

There’s also a refusal to admit that TA support is not good enough. Children with complex needs need professional support, not minimum wage teaching assistants with minimal training. Supporting those children is a complex job, and frequently involves being subject to physical violence or having to engage in toileting care, in addition to having the skills to deal with complex behaviours and ensure that some learning goes on. And yet we seem to expect that paying minimum wage to women who are generally just looking for a job that fits in with school hours will somehow produce those skills.

There’s also a refusal to admit that TA support is not good enough. Children with complex needs need professional support, not minimum wage teaching assistants with minimal training. Supporting those children is a complex job, and frequently involves being subject to physical violence or having to engage in toileting care, in addition to having the skills to deal with complex behaviours and ensure that some learning goes on. And yet we seem to expect that paying minimum wage to women who are generally just looking for a job that fits in with school hours will somehow produce those skills.
TBF In my experience some TAs are much better than teachers at facilitating learning with SEND children (I was a teacher).

There is a refusal often to even acknowledge that TA support is needed, certainly when it comes to getting it properly quantified in an EHC plan

I suppose a TA can if nothing else read up on the child's condition and adapt their approach unlike a teacher with 30+ pupils to manage

The Lamb report, a few years ago, concluded that the cost effectiveness of TAs was poor. Even though they are paid a pittance, the on costs are such that it makes them an expensive resource.

Well trained and committed TAs are, in my opinion, a valuable resource and a necessary support to the teacher. TAs with no training, should not be dealing with children with severe SEND, of whatever type. The whole HLTA exercise was designed to provide a career structure for TAs and to enhance their status. Unfortunately, schools couldn’t find the noney required to pay them at the additional rate.

Some of my TAs could persuade/coax/ encourage children better than some of their teachers. Some couldn’t.

There are 3 special schools in my borough for those with profound physical disabilities, one for severe autism, two for severe behavioural problems one of which is weekly boarding they are all full and cost massively more than a mainstream school place

There’s also a refusal to admit that TA support is not good enough

And that’s if you have TA support. TAs were the first casualty of the school funding cuts. Even kids with EHCPs can be left unsupported in lessons.

Inclusion can mean the most needy and vulnerable person in the school is taught by the least qualified and worst paid adult in the school.

In the 1970s and 1980s there were lots of moderate learning difficulty schools, maybe too many. Children who could have coped well in MS with adequate support were shipped off to them.

The closure of thousands of those schools, though, with the loss of all the expertise which had been concentrated in small classes and the poor replacement in MS by low paid TAs was criminal. Previously maybe 10 children with SEN would be taught by a qualified specialist teacher with qualified and expert support from maybe 2 LSWs. Those 10 children would now be in MS with maybe 10 lowly paid TAs in 10 MS bottom sets sharing the attention of a10 non specialist SEN teacher with the rest of the class.

Children with SLD are still taught in SS mainly. Those with MLD are generally not. And MS can be a very poor experience for those vulnerable children.

The stats are quite easy to find.

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/719226/Schools_Pupils_and_their_Characteristics_2018_Main_Text.pdf

It seems that England is actually doing better than Scotland- 5300 more children in SS this year.

However, I think the relative stability of the special school population represents a drop in real terms, when you consider medical advances etc.

For the poster who was rather ignorant with regards to hearing loss. Ds1 has severe loss and coped in mainstream until juniors when teaching style changes from visual to sit and listen. Even with aids and soindfield tests show he only hears an average of 60% speech. To learn you need an average of 90%. Therefore he needs Pre and post teaching with a specialist teaching assistant which mainstream does not have the time or resources. Plus being his age he now realised how different he was to other children. Therefore a unit which is specialised in hearing loss he is being taught and learning and improving his mental health. The change for the good in one term has been nothing but amazing. I wish we pushed the change in year 3 which quite frankly was a waste.

It was done in the name of inclusion but really like everything it’s a cost saving initiative

Absolutely. I’m sure money came first, then packaging it up neatly as a way to include all children as a selling point.

Special schools, funded and managed correctly, are absolutely bloody amazing places.

I worked in a local education authority in the early 2000s and there was a policy shift towards 'inclusion' and integrating children with milder disabilities into mainstream education. Quite a lot of special schools were closed in my area.

It was a very emotive subject (on both sides) and I remember attending public meetings and education committees where a great many protesters turned up.