Should special needs children have their own schools?

I WELCOMED the article about pupils with special needs attending mainstream schools (Mail). My son, who has severe special needs, attended a special school from 1982 to 1996. It was my belief then and remains so that this was the best educational establishment to provide for his needs. However, the main drawback of such a school was its isolation from mainstream children. Nowadays, many specialist facilities share the same site as the local school. This is the ideal set-up to achieve maximum benefit for pupils with special needs, who can move between the two systems with ease and as required on a day-to-day basis. This negates the difficult choice that often faces parents: social inclusion at the expense of education versus a specialist education isolated from other children.

TrICIA BOCHenSKI, Mold, Flintshire.

WHILE special needs children need all the help they can get, it should not take place in mainstream schools. Sadly, the children most neglected are clever children. I know a school where, one day, a disruptive special needs child required the resources of more than one teacher. While all their attention was spent with this one child, the rest of the class were told to do some colouring in for the whole afternoon. Bright children should be nurtured and given help to achieve their potential, not ignored because of one or two children with special needs. More often than not, special needs students don’t thrive in mainstream schools. I know the cost would be enormous, but the best approach is an environment where their limited talents can be nurtured individually, and they are not made to try to fit in with other children.

name supplied, Merseyside.