I just found this posted on another website, it a bit long, but worth the read.
"Lib Dems believe that we urgently need a complete rethink on inclusion. Parents need a guarantee that rather than closing their schools, staff in inclusion schools have access to professional development and that every child receives the support they need.
While the Government have made some progress in improving provision for children with special educational needs, there is much further to go if we want to see special eduactional needs well taken care of. The Audit Commission's report, "Special Educational Needs-a mainstream issue", which was published in 2002, highlighted a number of real concerns. That report stated that too many children wait for too long to have their needs met; children who should be able to be taught in mainstream settings are sometimes turned away and too many staff feel ill equipped to meet the wide range of pupil needs; many special schools feel uncertain of their future role; and that there are unacceptable variations in the level of support available to families from their school, local authority or local health service.
Liberal Democrat policy seeks to address these real concerns.
We have called for the introduction of 'Inclusion Zones', which allow disruptive pupils to be removed from the classroom before they reach the point of permanent exclusion by setting up specialist units which will address their needs. Pupils can be referred to such units part-time or temporarily, so that they can work on their problems and let other children learn in peace, without going through the damaging process of exclusion.
We would like to see early identification of special needs pupils, through the expansion of birth-to-six screening, especially for cognitive and sensory development. More research is also needed into low birthweight and families at risk. Past research has indicated a correlation between low birthweight and later special needs problems.
As part of an inclusion development programme, Liberal Democrats believe there should be a key worker for any child who is diagnosed at six months with a cognitive, sensory or physical impairment, so that there is a one-stop shop for the parents as well as for the professionals working with the child. Regulation of professionals in early-years education would ensure a duty of care for children with special educational needs. At present, they are excluded from that requirement.
Appropriate training should be given to all teachers and classroom assistants at all levels to deal with children with special needs.
Emphasis needs to be placed on dealing with children with behavioural difficulties. There is a growing incidence in our schools of children with attention deficit disorders, dyspraxia and autism, which causes major problems in terms of the inclusion programme, not only for the children themselves but for other children at the school. We have not given sufficient attention to that, yet it is one of the greatest barriers and threats to inclusion. Respite care is a massive issue for parents of children with dyspraxia, autism and some of the behavioural disorders, but there is a postcode lottery for its provision, which needs to be addressed.
We would consider linking specialist schools to research departments in higher education institutes, along the lines of the American model. Research excellence is thus developed locally and practice can spread to other schools, especially in mainstream settings."
Nice if it ever happens