Education for all

Special needs remains a priority

THE FACT that Hillary Clinton is the first woman to compete for the presidency of the United States shows the extent to which the United States trails the rest of the world, not least Britain, when it comes to the role of female politicians.

Perversely Britain, and other countries, can learn much from how Mrs Clinton previously championed the rights of disabled children to ensure they receive the education to which they should be entitled. This was a central theme of her acceptance speech at the Democrats’ convention last week.

Though new measures are in place here to safeguard the interests of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, disturbing new research identifies 791 young people in Yorkshire who remain at the mercy of officialdom because of the failure of schools, LEAs and other agencies to devise tailor-made learning plans – one of the specific requirements of the changes introduced last September.

This is simply unacceptable. The successful staging of the Paralympics four years ago, and gold medal wins for competitors like Yorkshire’s very own Hannah Cockroft, was supposed to mark a seachange in attitudes towards the disabled.

Yet, while most people are more enlightened in their outlook, progress in some quarters remains painfully slow. An important test of this county’s school system should not just be how it serves the most able, but how it supports those with special needs. Let’s hope this lesson in humanity and respect is learned in time for the new academic year.