Scottish Government

Executive summary

Introduction

In November 2003, the Scottish Executive Education Department ( SEED) commissioned the SCRE Centre at the University of Glasgow to evaluate the impact of Section 15 of the Standards in Scotland's Schools etc Act 2000. This legislation came into effect in August 2003, and introduced what is now commonly referred to as the 'presumption of mainstreaming' in relation to pupils with special educational needs ( SEN).

One of the changes enshrined in the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act is the adoption of the term additional support needs, which is considerably wider in scope than its predecessor. This change in nomenclature signals a general recognition amongst policy-makers that all children or young people may have additional support needs at some stage in their school career. In sum, the political consensus is that it is not necessarily exceptional to experience additional support needs - although in some cases these support needs are exceptional.

The evaluation took place between January 2004 and August 2005. The main aims of the research were to examine the response of education authorities throughout Scotland to Section 15; and to assess its impact on all those involved - pupils, parents and teachers, as well as other professionals and agents who support pupils with SEN.

The research comprised four main strands.

• Strand 1: comparative statistical analysis of secondary school census data (from 1998-2001) ¹, and of school-level data;
• Strand 2: a survey of policy and practice in the 32 education authorities in respect of mainstreaming pupils with SEN;
• Strand 3: case-study research in 12 locations;
• Strand 4: survey of special schools.

Research objectives

• To monitor any changes in the number and proportion of pupils with SEN who are educated in mainstream schools or have remained in special schools since the introduction of the presumption of mainstreaming.
• To investigate the ways in which the infrastructure of mainstream pre-school, primary and secondary schools, and the nature of their curricula facilitate or inhibit the mainstreaming of pupils with SEN.
• To explore attitudes to the mainstreaming of pupils with SEN; and to investigate the practical and social implications of the presumption of mainstreaming.
• To gauge the impact of mainstreaming on the personal and social development of all pupils; and upon their attainment.
• To explore the changing role of special schools, and the changing demands on staff in the special education sector and in mainstream schools.
• To review the development of training materials for teaching and non-teaching staff in relation to the presumption of mainstreaming. The historical legacy

The main findings to emerge from the study are summarised below.

The historical legacy

• Local authority reorganisation was perceived to be a significant driver of change in respect of SEN provision.
• The evidence suggests that several councils were moving to mainstream well in advance of the implementation of Section 15 of the Standards in Scotland's Schools etc Act 2000.
• It appears that local authorities have responded to the policy of mainstreaming in different ways, depending on their situation prior to and since local government reorganisation. For example, there is some suggestion that the type of inter-authority placement patterns that were evident in the former Strathclyde Region have persisted.
• Local authority reorganisation led to the suspension of specialist provision in four local authorities, and to a substantial reduction in number and range of specialist facilities available locally in a further five.

Opportunities and threats

• The four authorities that no longer had specialist provision within their boundaries following local government reorganisation perceived this as an opportunity for service development.
• The responses from a number of authorities (8) indicated the positive impact of local PPP projects on the development of mainstreaming strategies.
• In five other authorities, particularly those located in large conurbations, the legacy of local government reorganisation was perceived in a negative light.
• The main difficulties reported related to accessing specialist provision, and to the funding arrangements for extra-authority placements.

Impact of the presumption of mainstreaming

• There was perceived to be considerable political support at local authority level for the policy of mainstreaming children and young people with SEN.
• There is some evidence that the presumption of mainstreaming has resulted in closer links between mainstream schools and free-standing special schools.
• Pupils with moderate learning difficulties, hearing or visual impairment, social, emotional and behavioural difficulties and autistic spectrum disorders were considered more likely to be educated in a mainstream setting than previously.
• There was a consensus in favour of a mixed economy of provision - that is, a commitment to specialist services within an inclusive model.

Implementation issues

• It appears that not all local authorities were conducting an audit of the numbers and needs of children transferring from specialist to mainstream provision.
• Only thirteen authorities appear to have carried out an estimate of school management time required in order to implement inclusion effectively.
• Another area that may merit further attention is the estimate of facilities for visiting support staff in mainstream schools.
• It emerged during the course of the research that there was variation between authorities in respect of the range and depth of the accessibility strategies devised in compliance with the terms of The Education (Disability Strategies) (Scotland) Regulations 2002.
• The extent to which the process of inclusion is considered successful appears to depend on the subtle interplay of a variety of factors: school ethos, effective leadership, skill mix, etc.
• Adequate staffing levels, the availability of suitably qualified specialist staff (including, in some cases, mobility and IT advisers), and the provision of appropriate staff development and training opportunities, were considered vital to successful inclusion.
• As regards staffing, one of the key issues appears to be the need to build a degree of flexibility and responsiveness into the system - both at local-authority level and at the level of the school.

Impact on the special school sector

• The evidence from the special school survey suggests no clear trend in respect of an increase or decrease in roll in the 119 schools that responded to the survey.
• The evidence from the special school survey points unequivocally to a perceived increase in the range and complexity of conditions catered for in individual establishments.
• There is some evidence from the research that the skill mix in the special school sector is changing, in so far as the ratio of teachers to special needs assistants or auxiliaries is changing in favour of the latter. However, these findings should be set against the increasingly favourable pupil-teacher ratios in special schools in Scotland. For example, in 1990, the pupil-teacher ratio was 4.5 pupils to one teacher; by 2004, there were 3.7 pupils to one teacher.
• There were concerns expressed about the decrease in both the number and range of therapy staff visiting some special schools regularly.
• The majority of those who responded to the special school survey (58%) reported increased links with mainstream schools, and several attributed this change directly to the mainstreaming policy.
• The wider range of needs present in many special schools was perceived to have had a major impact on classroom organisation.

Key messages for policy makers

• The evidence from the local authority survey suggests that the inter-authority placement patterns evident before local authority reorganisation have persisted; and that the cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh continue to act as magnet providers of special school placements. Changes in service management in one authority are likely to have a knock-on effect on other authorities in the web of interdependence.
• There is a need for a coherent and transparent approach to workforce planning in education and health, and the development of resourced provision across local authority boundaries. This is a tall order. Nevertheless, changes in service management in one authority are likely to have a knock-on effect on other authorities in the web of interdependence.
• There is a need for greater collaboration at strategic level between education and health and social service providers in order to address issues relating to workforce planning for inclusion.
• There is a need for greater collaboration at operational level between education, health and therapy providers in order to maximise the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery.
• The Scottish Executive should continue to monitor the impact of the inter-authority placement patterns, in order to ensure efficient and effective provision for all children and young people with special educational needs.
• Local authorities should be encouraged to devise robust and transparent mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating changes in placement patterns in respect of children and young people with SEN.
• Staff who are currently working in special schools can play an important role as providers of advice, support and training to staff in mainstream schools who are facing new challenges in meeting the needs of increasingly diverse school populations.