Provision for Children with Special Education Needs: Findings from a Survey Among Five Local Authorities

Abstract

A questionnaire to special needs coordinators in schools, supported by interviews with LEA officials, school governors and staff, was conducted across five local authorities. Marked variations were found in rates of statementing, the proportion of statemented pupils in mainstream schools and the funding arrangements for special needs. Widespread concerns about implementing the Code of Practice were voiced by schools, especially in the secondary sector. Although mainstream staff were generally sympathetic to the principle of accommodating more statemented children into ordinary schools, they lacked confidence in their ability to make suitable provision, particularly in supporting pupils with EBD and severe learning difficulties. The implications of the findings are discussed in terms of ways by which the partnership between LEAs and schools can be improved.

Special Education Funding Reform: A Review of Impact Studies

“…In the six studies that used interview/survey methodology, the informants were school principals and special education coordinators (Evans et al, 1997;Furney et al, 2005;Pijl & Dyson, 1998), teachers (Grigal et al, 2001;Paquette & Smith, 2001), or parents (Granell, 2002). The exact interview/survey items were not clearly specified in all of the studies, but in five of the six cases the interview/survey protocol was said to include at least some items related to funding.…”

“…In four of these studies (Evans et al, 1997;Furney et al, 2005;Hartman, 2001;Naylor, 2001), the researchers accessed local-, state-or provincial-level data related to special education services, entitlements, and funding. Furney et al (2005) provided few details about their search of the existing [Education Department] database.…”

“…Five studies included descriptive/statistical analyses of existing data sources (Evans et al, 1997;Furney et al, 2005;Granell, 2002;Hartman, 2001;Naylor, 2001). In four of these studies (Evans et al, 1997;Furney et al, 2005;Hartman, 2001;Naylor, 2001), the researchers accessed local-, state-or provincial-level data related to special education services, entitlements, and funding.…”

“…The three other studies used a combination of approaches. Two of these latter studies (Evans et al, 1997;Granell, 2002), used a combination of interview/survey and descriptive/statistical analyses of existing data sources. The other study (Furney et al, 2005), combined descriptive/statistical analyses with interviews and direct observations in 65 schools, although the details concerning what was observed and how the observations were conducted were lacking from the report.…”

“…Two studies investigated census-based models for funding special education (Evans et al, 1997;Hartman, 2001). In both studies, the funding received by a school district or local education authority was based on the number of students and weighted by pupil-led variables, such as socioeconomic status or type and degree of disability.…”