Cascade Commented On A Recent Report That Claimed That More Than One In Six Children Is Branded 'Special Needs' By The Age Of Five

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) December 15, 2011 -- According to recent figures 17% of pupils in their first year of primary school were diagnosed with special educational needs during the last school year. The majority of these were branded SEN by their school rather than by a team of specialists. A source from Cascade, has described it as ‘shocking’ saying, “It’s shocking to hear of such a high figure”

The results have raised concerns that some schools are diagnosing ‘slow’ pupils as having special needs to disguise poor levels of achievement when the genuine cause is sub-standard teaching. Pupils with SEN attract more funding for schools. Cascade, a successful marketing company based in Plymouth which is constantly expanding and developing have commented on these figures, saying, “This report is shocking – They are wrongly labelling these children before giving them the chance to develop their learning skills OR even begin.”

Director of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at Buckingham University, Professor Alan Smithers, said the percentage of five-year-olds labelled SEN is too high. He said: “Compelling international evidence suggests fewer than one in ten children have genuine special education needs. So the claim that more than one in six five-year-olds should be SEN in England simply does not add up. There are perverse incentives to label children special needs. It is often an excuse for poor performance or a way to attract more funding. Schools can now brand a child "special needs" on the grounds they have communication problems, when the reality is that they just need a little extra help.” The Managing Director of Cascade, has said “When you look up ‘teacher’ in the dictionary, it is defined as ‘someone that imparts knowledge or skill’ and looking at the figures, they clearly aren’t doing their job right or at all. Children deserve the right to have a thorough and proper education.”

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2051126/Department-education-brands-100-000-pupils-special-needs-age-5.html

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