Special Educational Needs and Disability Bill [H.L.]

Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 4:54 pm on 1 March 2001.

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Photo of Baroness Blackstone Baroness Blackstone Minister of State (Education and Employment), Department for Education and Employment 4:54, 1 March 2001

My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Lucas, seeks to define what constitutes mainstream schooling to ensure that dual placements are permitted. I have given many assurances that the existing arrangements, and indeed Clause 1 of the Bill, do allow for dual placements. The flexibility is there for children to be educated at a mainstream school, but to receive part of their education at another school.

I do not know whether I can give the noble Lord a dictionary definition of the term, but I believe that a mainstream school is any school which does not have special provisions for those with special educational needs. However, this amendment states that a child should be considered to be receiving education in a mainstream school if he is registered at that school and attends regularly. In return, perhaps the noble Lord could say what "regularly" means. The problem is that that term is awfully imprecise. It could be said that a child attends a school regularly if he does so only once a term, so long as he does that on a regular basis. This could be abused and could provide a significant loophole to block real inclusion. As the noble Lord knows, we are trying to encourage greater inclusion where parents want it.

Noble Lords will remember the discussion we had on Report concerning the term "registered". We oppose the use of the term "registered" because it would allow a child to be registered at one school but taught at a totally different school. That is not inclusion. As we argued then, we believe that it is right for the vast majority of children with special educational needs to be educated in mainstream schools. We also believe that it is common sense for a child normally only to be considered as being educated in a mainstream school if he spends the majority of his time in that mainstream school.

I have already promised that we shall provide further advice on the use of dual placements--both for children who have statements and for those who do not--within the guidance that will back up the new inclusion framework. I should like now, again, to give an assurance that this Bill, as it stands, allows for dual placements. I hope that, having heard those assurances, the noble Lord will feel able to withdraw his amendment.