Mrs Clark says her aspiration would be for there to be no special schools at all. “But I don’t think we should compromise the education of this generation in order to achieve something for future generations,” she adds.

“My feeling, and a consultation we had three years ago showed it was the view of parents and staff too, is that we are not ready yet to move to full inclusion.

“My philosophical position is that I would like our children to be part of our communities in all aspects of their lives but we are not in a position to deliver that now.”