Fears over special needs funding
Money given to schools for pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) should be ring-fenced, campaigners say.
2 Dec 2006
Money given to schools for pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) should be ring-fenced, campaigners say.
Patients in hospices in the UK and the Republic of Ireland may not be receiving the psychiatric care they need, a study has suggested. A survey of 166 hospices found 45% did not have any access to a psychiatrist or psychological care, the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine reported. The study is published as a Mori poll shows the majority of people think the government should boost hospice funds.
Research out today shows that 70% of parents of disabled children struggle to give information to their children about their impairments and what is happening to them.
Disabled children should be better represented in story books to increase children's understanding and awareness of disabilities, a charity says. Scope said there were 770,000 disabled children in the UK who had "virtually no role models in literature".
Mums of children with special needs who have been campaigning to get adapted trolleys at a supermarket were shocked to discover there has been one there all the time. Anna Cowie, of Shelley Road, has been asking for special needs trolleys at East Grinstead's Sainsbury's since the store was refurbished over a year ago - and has frequently been told by staff that none is available. She needs one for her son Jack, 12, who has severe learning disabilities, Down syndrome and autism.
Families in Mole Valley have been shocked by plans to close a care home for mentally disabled people. For decades parents have relied on Daffodil House in Reigate to provide respite care for their severely handicapped sons and daughters.This care allows them a break from the strain of looking after a disabled child.