A survey on provision for disabled children at residential schools reveals poor communication between education and social services departments and vagueness about consulting with the children themselves about how they believe their needs should be met.
The research, which looked at how 21 local authorities’ education and social services departments carried out their duties in making residential school placements, found a lack of clarity about socialservices departments’ duties towards disabled children in residential school and a similar lack of clarity in education departments about their legal duties to notify social services about disabled children going into residential schools.
Disabled Children at Residential School is published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation as part of its Findings series. Available on its website: www.jrf.org.uk or by phoning 01904 615905.
REVA KLEIN