House of Commons Hansard Debates for 5 Dec 1997 (pt 7)

Mrs. Browning: Although a spirit of co-operation has prevailed during the debate, which I welcome, I assure

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my hon. Friend that, as we are in a consultation, we are seeking answers to questions, but that if, at the end of that consultation, some of the fears raised in the House become a reality, we will bring the Government to account.

Mr. St. Aubyn: I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her comments. She makes it clear that, although some Labour Members have read their speeches in an almost thoughtless manner this morning, we are on the ball and determined that the real needs of children will not be overlooked by a departmental agenda that, at heart, many of us mistrust.

As the School Standards and Framework Bill sets up a framework by which local authorities can, if they deem it necessary, close special educational needs schools, why is it necessary to have clause 31, by which the Secretary of State may in effect override the local decision-making process and impose a decision to discontinue a school? Clause 31 states that the Secretary of State may

"give a direction to the local education authority by whom the school is maintained requiring the school to be discontinued on a date specified in the direction."

The Government will not even give the local authority a second chance to consider how long the school has to close. That could cause immense disruption for the children.

As I have mentioned, we have several special needs schools in the Guildford area. At least two are at the cutting edge of new ideas and new ways of dealing with some of the most disadvantaged, in educational terms, children in society. There is a further danger in the top-down approach from central Government: the knowledge, understanding and skills that are developed in those special schools will be lost and dissipated as a result of ill-thought-out changes. Clause 31 will only add to the worries of such schools. I hope that, in her reply, the Minister will deal with that point.

I hope that we can be bipartisan about one thing. It seems that the issue of having inclusion where it can work is not in dispute, but do the Government realise what that means? If we are to have children of much less academic ability in a school and they are not to feel as if they are second-rate citizens there, we have to be imaginative. It is important that the esteem of those children is promoted.

Often, children with educational difficulties have talents in other areas--perhaps in music, on the playing fields or in drama. Will the Government give schools the resources to promote those activities, in which such children may excel and therefore come to win the regard and respect of their fellow pupils even though their academic performance may not be on the same plane? That gets to the heart of the challenge that faces the Government if they are sincere in their policies on inclusion and are not involved merely in a money-saving exercise under the guise of some warm words.

11.57 am

Mr. Tony Colman (Putney): I congratulate my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State on her speech, which covered and dealt with many of the issues that the hon. Member for Guildford (Mr. St. Aubyn) has mentioned. I do not think that he was in the Chamber for my hon. Friend's speech. I was not either, but I listened to it in my room and I was impressed.

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One of the claims we need to nail immediately is the idea that this is a cost-cutting exercise. My hon. Friend said that this is an attempt to move money. Other hon. Members, who have not been quite as testy as the hon. Member for Guildford (Mr. St. Aubyn), have stated that resources should be shifted to early intervention and practical support.

Mr. St. Aubyn: Is the hon. Gentleman comfortable with clause 31 of the School Standards and Framework Bill? Why does he think it is necessary to override local decision making?

Mr. Colman: I shall come to that. The hon. Gentleman obviously has no experience of local education authorities. He had a distinguished career in banking. Many of the areas that he criticised are the responsibility of his local education authority and local council. I shall give good examples of how LEAs are able to deliver later. My hon. Friend the Member for Harrow, East (Mr. McNulty) spoke on that subject.

There are no quotas and targets to be met because there is a partnership between central and local government. As many hon. Members would agree, there is a need, in areas such as Hackney, for reserve powers. The House must not abdicate its responsibility for the delivery of many policies by delegating to local government. I think that the hon. Member for Guildford will accept that the spirit of reserve powers is in the Bill, which has yet to receive its Second Reading.

Before the hon. Member for Guildford spoke, I was heartened by the general agreement that we are debating a cross-party matter. Certainly at local education authority level and within education committees it is seen in that way. I hope that that continues. I was pleased to note that the hon. Members for Tiverton and Honiton (Mrs. Browning) and for Bath (Mr. Foster) and other hon. Members paid tribute to the National Autistic Society. I commend to those who have not yet signed it my early-day motion on Autism Awareness Week, which brings the matter to the attention of the House.

The early-day motion has interesting signatories in that it contains the signatures of fellow members of the Treasury Committee. I think that its signing is a first for the right hon. Member for Fareham (Sir P. Lloyd) and for the hon. Member for Grantham and Stamford (Mr. Davies). The motion clearly suggests support from the banking community and from others who wish to deal with issues related to autism and special educational needs.

I commend to the House the "Timetable for autism" which is mentioned in my early-day motion. It has not been mentioned in the debate but I am glad to say that some hon. Members have a copy of it. I commend to the Minister pages 12 and 13 and ask her to ensure that the National Autistic Society's work on training and accreditation is considered before the Government publish a White Paper and possibly a Bill. I endorse "SPELLcheck", which has nothing to do with the function on our word processors, but is an autism-specific training and development audit for local authorities who seek to enhance and develop their provision for people with autism.

I draw to the Minister's attention the six proposals on pages 14 and 15 of the document in the context of the National Autistic Society's view on what every

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LEA should provide. First, the earlier specialist intervention starts, the better the outcome. I know that the Green Paper and the Minister support that. I commend to the House the society's early intervention project, which is called "EarlyBird". That will be a great help in ensuring that children who have autism can be identified early.

Secondly, I strongly endorse an informed balance of mainstream and specialist education. Planning for that is important. The society states that all children should be monitored and that there should be a clear approach to how that can be done. Thirdly, LEAs should provide informed staff. Everyone who teaches children with autistic spectrum disorders, whatever the type of placement, should have knowledge of autism. Fourthly, LEAs should provide the right educational environment for children with autism. Whatever the location, teaching approaches must be deeply empathetic and the environment must be organised to reduce clutter and promote calm. A structured routine and consistency are all important.

Fifthly, there should be individual help for the child. Children with autism have highly individual needs in the areas of thinking, self-organisation and communication. The programme of support must be individually determined.

Sixthly, where appropriate, a statement of special educational needs must be based on the child's individual condition. If autistic spectrum disorder were to be mentioned as a specific condition, which I would wish in any revised code of practice, it would greatly assist in ensuring that the child received support and education that is appropriate to his or her needs. I regret to say that there is currently no specific requirement that autism be indicated on a statement of special educational needs. I commend to the House those six items in the "Timetable for autism".

I mentioned the differences between one local education authority and another. I am the hon. Member who represents Putney but, for the previous six years, until July 1997, I was the leader of Merton council. I commend the excellent offices of that borough, from which I know the Minister has received and continues to receive advice on projects and ways of working with special educational needs.

My hon. Friend the Member for Streatham (Mr. Hill) has drawn attention to the need to deal correctly with pupils with emotional/behavioural difficulties. I am proud to say that, in Merton, we have very few such exclusions. Nevertheless, I agree with him on the need to deal correctly with those pupils and particularly on the need to monitor possible exclusions among ethnic minorities--which we are doing.