ALL authorities face the same problems, which include balancing social inclusion with raising attainment and the whole issue of continuing professional development, says Paul Hamill, co-author with Brian Boyd of a Strathclyde University report on inclusive education in East Lothian that was published in May.
Mr Hamill said: “A lot of class teachers feel they are not skilled to take on all levels of pupils, which would include pupils with dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism and pupils who may be blind or deaf.”
Dr Boyd said this week: “We need to take a step back and ask where we are with inclusion. There is a tremendous amount of excellent practice in primaries but in secondaries they are finding it difficult and there is still a lot of suspicion around.”
Councils were having to review their inclusion policies every year because of the changes and there was no national agreement about definitions of inclusion.
