Parents of special needs pupils forced to go private

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http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2236026,00.html

Parents of special needs pupils forced to go private

Anushka Asthana, education correspondent

Sunday January 6, 2008

The Observer

Parents whose children have special needs such as dyslexia or

Asperger's syndrome have been giving up holidays, meals out and new

clothes to fund costly private education following an 'exodus' from

state schools.

Over the past decade the number of pupils with special educational

needs (SEN) in private schools has almost trebled, with an extra

52,594 taking places, according to a report by the Bow Group, the

centre-right think tank. It says that children with special needs

account for 83 per cent of the growth in the independent sector since

1997.

'The number of children with SEN going private has increased by 300

per cent since the government started reducing statementing and

closing special schools,' said Charlotte , co-author of the

report. 'That cannot be a coincidence.'

Last year Ruth , the former Education Secretary, opted to

educate her own dyslexic son privately. Critics branded her

a 'hypocrite' and called for her to resign because she had overseen

the closure of 2,600 places for children with special needs.

'Why is the government not listening to parents of children with SEN

who have battled endlessly for a suitable school? Now tens of

thousands feel they have little option but to pay fees they may find

hard to afford,' said.

Skidmore, co-author of the report and chair of the Bow Group,

said 'exasperated parents' had been forced to seek places in private

schools because local authorities had not met their needs. The

government's push for 'inclusion' in mainstream schools had led

families to 'throw their hands up in despair when the odds stacked up

against them.'

One mother who struggled for years before going private was Debbie

Stone, whose son, Oliver, 12, had severe difficulties with language,

processing and memory. She said Surrey council admitted he needed

speech and language therapy, but told her there were none

available. 'I thought I should request a statement of special needs,

but I did not realise how difficult it would be,' said Stone.

For years the council blocked every attempt she made, during which

time her son began talking of suicide. Eventually she moved Oliver to

More House School in Farnham, Surrey, a private school for boys with

special needs where he gets language therapy every day.

'He is a completely different child,' said Stone. 'He is happy and

his self-esteem is high. But we had to give up family holidays,

curtail going out to eat, not go on trips to London, I stopped buying

clothes. I drive him there myself - 120 miles a day.'

Eventually Stone got some support from the local authority, which now

pays 50 per cent of the fees. Most parents at More House have to pay

the full amount, which can be £21,000 a year for boarders.

Maynard, a campaigner whose son, , has multiple disabilities,

including autism, said: 'It is the independent sector offering small

classes and individual support. But the parents who can afford it are

often middle-class, given that fees often exceed £16,000 a year.'