Northampton Electronic Collection of Theses and Research

‘Nowhere that fits’ – the dilemmas of school choice for parents of children with statements of special educational needs (SEN) in England

Bajwa-Patel, M. and Devecchi, C. (2014) ‘Nowhere that fits’ – the dilemmas of school choice for parents of children with statements of special educational needs (SEN) in England. Support for Learning. 29(2) 1467-9604.

Item Type: Article
Abstract: Giving parents a choice with regard to their children’s education has been central to the political discourse of school reform at least since the 1988 Education Reform Act (ERA) (DfE, 1988). With regard to children with a statement of special educational needs (SSEN), a plethora of policies and laws (e.g. ERA, 1988; Education Act, 1996, SENDA, 2001)have given parents not only the right to choose a school, but also to appeal to decisions in the best interest of their children. Yet, despite the discourse the implementation and practice of such reforms are neither assured nor simple. Participants in the study indicated that they have little choice of suitable provision and are having to compromise either the academic or the social aspects of their child’s schooling. This paper argues that for many parents whose children have a statement of SEN the choice of a school is often a dilemma as nowhere seems to fit.
Uncontrolled Keywords: Parents, inclusion, school choice, special educational needs
Creators: Bajwa-Patel, Meanu and Devecchi, Cristina
Faculties, Divisions and Institutes: University Faculties, Divisions and Research Centres - OLD > Research Centre > China and Emerging Economies Centre
Research Centres > China and Emerging Economies Centre
University Faculties, Divisions and Research Centres - OLD > Research Centre > Centre for Education and Research
Research Centres > Centre for Education and Research
Date: 1 May 2014
Date Type: Publication
Journal or Publication Title: Support for Learning
Volume: 29
Number: 2
Language: English
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9604.12052
ISSN: 1467-9604
Status: Published / Disseminated
Refereed: Yes
URI: http://nectar.northampton.ac.uk/id/eprint/11123

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