Studying SEN Progress

The quote I've highlighted is: “The purpose of education for all children is the same; the goals are the same. But the help that individual children need in progressing towards them will be different. Whereas for some the road they have to travel towards the goals is smooth and easy, for others it is fraught with obstacles. For some the obstacles are so daunting that, even with the greatest possible help, they will not get very far. Nevertheless, for them too, progress will be possible, and their educational needs will be fulfilled, as they gradually overcome one obstacle after another on the way.” It's taken from the 1978 Warnock Report.

I've been studying the history of UK SEN provision over the past six weeks, and it's been pretty depressing on times, because attitudes weren't always so inclusive and empathetic as the one expressed above. Previous reports and acts of parliament from the late 19th and early 20th century termed people with disabilities, feeble-minded, morons, imbeciles and idiots. Those were the actual legal classifications. Another term used was ‘defectives’. Horrible.

Compared to reading those terms, viewing children with additional needs as medical/psychological tragedies, to be segregated and cared for, rather than included and educated, it was wonderful to read something so different. Seeing each child as an individual, equally valued, each with their own journey, their own road to travel … it’s a total turnaround. One of my questions in my assignments asks my opinion on the most significant historical development in SEN, and I think, in my opinion, I’ve found it.