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A very special school (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12)


the area of profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD). We have an ageing workforce and if the experts retire, who will replace them? Unless we see investment in training for the future, our expertise in the field of special needs will be lost.


Transition to adulthood A considerable amount of funding is spent looking at transition programmes, but more complex young people are still unable to access residential college placements due to funding issues.


... and how will we overcome them?


Challenges are about finding solutions. Often that means thinking out of the box. It also means rationalising support and reviewing processes and protocols.


The special school model of ten years ago would not be suitable today. If special schools are to be valued within their LEA, they must become totally inclusive. We must work together to develop programmes to meet the requirements of the next generation of pupils with additional needs.


Employment opportunities in ten years may be very different to those on offer today. We must teach transferable skills to enable young people to be confident and caring adults.


We can help young people fulful their potential, but we must, along the way, realise that:


Challenges – make us think of solutions


Time – must be spent constructively


Money – is not the only solution to needs


Training – requires investment for the future


Specialist support – needs addressing now before all our expertise is lost.


We must think of ways to get smarter and share resources. We may not cause a revolution in education, but we could start a debate on what a good special school can provide – for its pupils and the local community, including mainstream schools.


Learning experiences throughout the education systems must be realistic, offering a stable and ordered environment in which values such as respect, honesty and fairness are promoted, as well as pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Special schools can show that alternative opportunities and ‘out of the box’ thinking can make that difference.


We must provide a continuum of provision that meets the needs of a changing society and not sit back and be complacent. The revolution in education reform is beginning and we must be part of this debate.


I end as I began: “Should we really call St Christopher’s a special school?”






Maxine Pittaway trained in special needs education in Wales. In 1990 she spent a year in Canada as visiting professor at the University of New Brunswick, where she also worked with the province’s Minister for Education. She and her school have won numerous awards and accolades.

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