Lord Adonis pledges to protect special schools with new guidance

Councils looking to close special schools would have to demonstrate they had better provision in place for children with special educational needs, the has government announced.

Education minister Lord Adonis said the “strong guidance” would provide added protection for special schools and a guarantee for parents that provision in their area was as good as it could be.

Adonis also said special educational needs co-ordinators would face mandatory training from 2008, with the training piloted next year, adding that this would drive improvement in SEN provision.

The education select committee slammed the SEN system as “not fit for purpose” in a scathing report in July.