Inclusion in Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Inclusion in Education - Essay Example This was replaced by a revised version which was issued in 2001, coming into effect in January 2002 (DFES 2001). The nature of provision for special educational needs has changed drastically over the last few years following the Warnock Report and the 1981 Education Act, with an increased awareness of educational needs and a consonant focus on improving the quality of provision for much larger numbers of children (Griffiths, 1998, 95 in Quicke, 2007, 2-15). This implies improvement of education of all and specially of those with special needs that would impart knowledge and power to all (QCA/DfEE, 2001). Department of Health has recently published a White Paper for people with learning disabilities in 2001 (Department of Health, 2001, 1-10). The United Kingdom has separate educational systems for England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. As far as education is concerned, the countries are split up into so-called local education authorities that carry a large part of the responsibility for organising education at local level. Historically, for a long time, England and Wales had separate systems for regular and special education. Since the Warnock Report in 1978, it has been assumed in the UK that about 20 per cent of school-aged children will have special educational needs requiring additional help at some point in their school careers. Furthermore, approximately 2 per cent of children will have severe physical, sensory, intellectual or emotional difficulties, some of which will remain with them throughout their lives. Historically this 2 per cent of children have been exclud ed from mainstream schools, receiving their education in special schools instead. In recent years, a growing sense of injustice regarding the idea of segregated special schooling for these pupils has led to calls for more inclusive educational opportunities as a matter of human right and equal opportunity (Amatea, 1988, 174-183). By the Education Acts 1981 and 1993, which latter consolidated into the Education Act 1996, the policy of parental choice in the field of special educational needs has in most respects been merely built on key recommendations in the Warnock Report in 1978, namely that the education system should pay heed to parental knowledge about their child's needs and respect parental wishes regarding the child's education (Farrell, 2001, 3-9). Warnock's other recommendation was to integrate the education, meaning pupils with special educational needs should, as far as possible, be educated alongside other children in mainstream schools (Lewis, 2004, 3-9). In relation to this, this process must acknowledge the diversity of needs of all students creating opportunity to support learning of all students inclusive of those who have impairments or needs for special educations. While the White Paper was explicitly a response of the authorities from the concerns to promote better life chances for people with special needs for education, it identifies the many barriers that such children and their families face in fully participating in their communities. This paper promotes the benefits to be obtained by these children through educational opportunities, good health, and social care while living with their families. It was evident later that constructive and sustainable relationships between pupils with speci