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Devon supports inclusive education opportunities for all children and young people

All children and young people have the right, in law, to attend a mainstream school. Children with disabilities have had this right protected since 2001. The Special Educational Needs and Disability Act says that schools should make ‘reasonable’ adjustments to ensure that children and young people with disabilities can enjoy the same opportunities as other children. We aim to support schools in making this a reality.

Every Child Matters

Education support services work closely with social care colleagues in Children and Young People’s Services and with health service staff to support children and young people who may be vulnerable to failure or harm, or at risk of failing to achieve their potential. We are committed to putting children and young people first and to listening to their views as well as to those of their parents and carers.

A vision of inclusive education

Devon’s Vision for Learning, launched in 2005, endorses the entitlement of children and young people to an inclusive education alongside their peers. Our strategy to support schools in the challenge of making inclusive education a reality, Excellence for All Children: The Development of an Inclusive Education System in Devon was also produced in 2005. It encompasses our SEN and behaviour support strategies.

Excellence for All Children underpins our Children and Young People’s Plan (1.75MB - pdf help) and its action plan is designed to help schools and settings to achieve these key Government and County Council priorities:

• To raise the educational achievement of all children and young people
• To develop the capacity of schools and other educational settings to meet a wider range of needs, increasing their staffs’ confidence and skills
  in teaching children and young people with special and additional needs
• To ensure the greatest possible social inclusion
• To enable children and young people to access the mainstream curriculum, wherever possible in schools serving their local communities
• To enable all children and young people to achieve the Five Outcomes of Every Child Matters (DfES 2003-5): being healthy, staying safe, enjoying and achieving, making a positive contribution and achieving economic well-being.

Special schools

We recognise the important role which special schools can play. For a small minority of children and young people a special school placement for some, or all, of the week is the most appropriate setting to meet their needs. We are working to provide opportunities for children attending special schools and children attending mainstream schools to learn alongside each other, and to promote the interchange of staff between special and mainstream schools. Special schools are increasingly likely to provide ‘outreach’ services, offering advice and support to staff in the mainstream; so they can play an important part in the range of provision we aim to provide to support all children and young people’s access to an inclusive curriculum through which they can achieve success and enjoyment.

You can find more information about our special schools in our prospectus Special Schools and Educational Facilities in Devon (1.73MB - pdf help)

Also on devon.gov.uk

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