Prologue

MORE AND MORE CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS MOVED INTO MAINSTREAM SCHOOLS.

THE BUZZ WORD IS 'INCLUSION'.

The future of the school I was associated with was uncertain for many years. Parents who fought to keep it open were swimming against a strongly running tide that constantly threatened to engulf it.

THIS LOCAL AUTHORITY CHANGED ITS MIND

As I write this, the school is still open. I still have snapshots of it in my mind from the time I joined it as Governor in 1988 until I left in 2004. A head teacher had a great staff, the pupils were bright-eyed, happy purposeful children, enjoying their school days, they helped each other along the way, and their parents were happy. The school's mission statement was:

"WHOLE SCHOOL - WHOLE CHILD".

I couldn't have written Death of a Nightingale without that in the background. I must stress that it is a different story and a piece of fiction. I dedicate it to all those people working with special needs, to children with special needs and to their parents. I came to have a huge respect for all of them. In their interests I would like to combat the stigma that moves towards inclusion have wrongly attached to special schools. This is important since the tide towards a policy that was based upon the dogma of inclusion and not upon its practicability and its suitability, is now on the turn.

THERE IS A GROWING AWARENESS THAT INCLUSION IS NOT APPROPRIATE FOR ALL CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

The Coalition Government issued a Green Paper in March 2001 stating that the bias towards mainstream schools should be ended.