YOU say “LEAs should set targets measuring progress on inclusion” (TES, May 23). However, a myopic regard of special school closure as “progress” may serve more to distract from rather than spot reliable indicators of increasing inclusion. Your language implies that “mainstreaming” is synonymous with “inclusion”. Such simplistic analysis elevates Newham above the others in another dubious league table. Given that 20 per cent of parents in the capital now opt for a private school, should we not translate more cautiously the target-setting language of inclusion?

Ron Babbage

Headteacher, St John’s school Bedford Road Kempston, Bedford