Special Education Needs Policy Essay -- Education, inclusion

Introduction Early years providers regardless of type, size or funding must comply with the legal requirements set out within the Early Years Foundation Stage ( EYFS) so as to meet the needs of all children within the setting (DCSF 2008a, p11). The objective of this report is to critically evaluate the Special Educational Needs Policy used in a setting which support anti discriminatory practice and promote inclusion (appendix 2). Within the context of a faith based early years setting in Dewsbury. The Warnock Report (Special Educational Needs1978) introduced the concept of ‘inclusion’ in the form of ‘integration’ with regard to children with special educational needs, suggesting that mainstream settings would be preferable to ‘Special Schools’. Gates and Edwards (2007) outline, prior to this report, the terms â€Å"Handicapped† or â€Å"Educationally subnormal† were acceptable terms, based on an apparent culture of a medical model, where the disabled person is the problem, governed by their disability. An example might be a child labelled with Down ’s syndrome as their identifying features, instead of their name (Courtman 2010). As legislation has continued to develop, so have attitudes towards disability. The Disability Discrimination Act 2005, set out duties for employers and many public services. Further changes arose from the Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001. It became unlawful to discriminate against disabled children, and by 2004, â€Å"...reasonable adjustments...† were expected to improve access within the physical environment, for disabled people. The introduction of the Children Act 2004 saw the introduction of the Every Child Matters (ECM) (DCFS 2008d). In addition the publication Removing Barriers to Achievement ... ... re-evaluate and challenge anti discriminatory practice at a cultural level however the changing of others attitudes can be difficult but not impossible. Article 23 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) (UNICEF 2007, online) recognise the disability of a child should not reduce the child’s right to education and children with any kind of disability has the right to special care and support. â€Å"Equality of opportunity means that each individual in society experiences opportunities to achieve and flourish which are as good as the opportunities experienced by others† (Griffin 2008, p.12). TTRB (2009) Models of Disability and Special Educational Needs. [Online]. Available: http://sen.ttrb.ac.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?Keyword=Special+Educational+Needs&SearchOption=Phrase&SearchType=Keyword&RefineExpand=1&ContentId=15708 [27/12/2010]