Mainstream or special schools?

Whilst I applaud people like Bridget Phillipson for boot strapping herself out of poverty through education, she obviously had the support both at home and at school to enable her to do so, not everyones so lucky. If you don't have support at home or at school, then it's going to be really really difficult, with adult education being virtually non existant, how once you've left school do you find your way, especially if you're not seen as academic and can't find an apretniceship, it seem like all you have to look forward to is a life time of flipping burgers. Well that is until you reach 20 and become to expensive to employ.

I get the impression from the Education secretary that she sees it that she came from a poor background and if she could do well in school then everyone can. No understanding at all that it isn't just about money, everybody's brains are different.

I don't know what I think about no uniform, it can go 2 ways for me. Yes you can be more comfortable in your own stuff etc but some kids struggle with choosing what to wear everyday and this can impact them attending school. In the school I work in, we have an optional uniform. This seems to work quite well. It could be a little time consuming dealing with inappropriate wear or unsafe wear in a mainstream school though I guess. 

One of the big things that absolutely has to happen is more education for all children. They should all be educated far more about differences and disabilities etc and how to be accepting.

My experience with my Son this has very much been the case.  So glad he’s spent more time in a special school than he has mainstream. 

100%. I can absolutely see how wheelchair users could be integrated into a mainstream school. Neurodivergency is completely different.

Theres an opinion piece in todays Guardian about making more provision for disabled pupils in mainstream schools, the author, a wheelchair user, thinks its a great idea, particularly for academically gifted children as they will have a wider range of oportunities in mainstream education. I see here point, but I think there's a great deal of difference between someone in a wheelchair and someone with autism, one of the biggest problems for those of us with invisable disabilities is companies saying they're disabliity friendly when what they actually mean is they're wheelchair accessable and may let you have a couple of extra toilet breaks.

There can be issues in some special schools with academics and it does seem to be another thing that is a postcode lottery. GCSE wise I think that is improving massively but I don't think there are many that provide a levels. Numbers are just too small to employ subject specialists.

However in my experience of working in SEND schools that do provide GCSEs etc, with the supportive environment, many of the more academic pupils are ready to integrate into a setting that can provide a levels by 6th form. There is an issue though for these kids that I would say are in-between, mainstream doesn't work for them but send can hold them back. This is something that definitely needs consideration in these reforms.

I think one of my concerns is that some SEND schools are just not set up for teaching some of the higher level subjects. Things like the science A-Levels, particularly further maths (and probably many humanities too), need to be taught by people with degree level knowledge, and I just don't see how small quiet SEND schools could maintain that expertise. It's a struggle for mainstream schools as it is. As a result, even if a SEND school might be better for some regulation things, it can innately limit that student academically, and that trade off should be carefully managed and considered. And self teaching doesn't work for practical based subjects that require labs and technicians.

I agree with you about having simple uniforms, although I still dont' like the idea of uniforms at all, theres just something about them that makes me shudder.

I think kids know who has money and who dosen't, it will show in many differnt ways, from who has what sort of shoes, or haircut, or bag. I'm not sure what they way around any of this is, maybe challenging the thinking behind it would help? Telling people not to be nasty isnt going to work, or telling those who are bullied to ignore the bullies, thats just compounding it me. 

I think special schools are seen as exclusive rather than inclusive and that everybody needs to learn to get along with eachother. I can see the thinking behind this view, but I disagree with it, I wonder who it is that thinks every child should be in a mainstream school? I bet it's NT's with little or no toleration of any differences, the sort of peope who use words like "should" and "ought", like "you should be able to block out noise going on around you", or "you ought to be able to do this is you do it slowly and carefully", never realising that some of us really can not do somethings because of our disabilities.

I just hope this isn't going to end up as yet another measuring stick to beat us with

I once saw a museum exhibition about the fight for disabled rights. In it they had an isolation desk used in classrooms for disruptive children. It was a desk with a front and sides about three feet in height above the table top. In essence a small room. I thought, 'How ironic, I would have absolutely loved having such a desk at any point in my school career.' The only drawback would have been not being able to see the blackboard.

I think some mainstream schools really try hard to accommodate pupils with Autism but others seem to have a total lack of knowledge and understanding of Autism. Unfortunately even the mainstream schools who are educated in Autism cannot do much about the environment of their schools which can cause some or a lot of pupils with Autism to really struggle 

In fairness, I think the divide would be worse if they worse own clothes. Then it would be very obvious who had money and who didn't. But I don't think uniforms should be expensive or uncomfy. A polo shirt, black pants and black shoes/trainers would do it. No need for shirts, ties or blazers.

I don't know what they think they're going to achieve by putting more send kids in mainstream. I really don't.

A lot of parents can't afford uniforms, is this another way of seperating out the well off and "worthy" pupils from the less "worthy" poorer pupils?

Is seperating SEND children in a mainstream school another way of saying "you're never amount to anything, but we've got to keep you here"?

Sorry I know I'm very cynical about schools, but having seen how little has changed, dosen't give me much hope for the future.

(Note: I’m in the States, so things are surely different over here)

My daughter is in a mainstream classroom, but she spends 20% of the time in a social/emotional support classroom (basically the start and end of the day). They’re trying to gradually increase her time in the mainstream classroom. I feel this has been majorly beneficial for her. Before we moved she was stuck in a mainstream classroom 100% of the time and she struggled so hard throughout 1st grade.

My son is in reception and his school are finding him too much. I feel some kids are nasty to my son and because he is the one who gets caught he gets into trouble. 

Hard to comment on 40 years as I'm not that old yet but not much has happened to combat that. With the best will in the world I am not sure you can. There are small steps schools can take. Gentler bells, sound proofing, staggered timetables so not everyone moves at once. But for kids that really struggle with noise and crowds, a school with over 1000 pupils in it is just not going to work. There is more chance in a primary school as there are less children but for some kids that's still way too much.

It's also things like uniforms. At the moment in mainstream, many schools are isolating or excluding kids for things like not wearing a tie or proper school shoes. Well a lot of neurodivergent kids just can't do that.

Thats what I thought too, I never got used to the noise and business of school. I wondered if and how things had changed in the last 40 years?

In my experience of working in education. Send schools are far more inclusive than mainstream. Send kids get isolated and shut away far more in mainstream because they just can't cope with it. What needs to happen in my opinion is more send schools that can meet the appropriate needs. Many send schools don't cater for "the Inbetweeners" those with neurodivergent needs but academically ok so that they are able to get the qualifications they deserve without unnecessary stress. They can throw as much money as they like into mainstream but if you've got kids that can't manage big classes, noisy corridors, busy playgrounds, loud dining rooms etc then they are not going to manage.