Comment on the following questions: When might children with disabilities be best served by attending a special school? When might children with disabilities be best served by attending an inclusive mainstream school?

Having worked in mainstream nursery and primary for 16 years with some time spent in a special unit with a child doing a split placement between her local school and the unit I still find these questions difficult. 

My niece has severe quadriplegic cerebral palsy and went to her local nursery and school on spit placement for some time before moving full time to the unit. A lot of equipment was tied up in both places, in the unit it could be used by other children but at the mainstream school it was for her use only on the days she was in. The school had to put in extra facilities for her, eg nappy changing area for a primary age child. To be honest, I don't think she got a lot out of the mainstream, the other children benefited from being socially aware of a child with severe disabilities, something which I hope will stand them in good stead as they age. The unit has better facilities and a wider range of trained staff. My niece was happy in both settings but use of ICT for her, for example, was more available at the unit. Funding and training are the keys I suppose.

From my own working point of view, most of my time has been spent supporting children with a range of needs in mainstream. ASD, Dyslexia, Global Developmental Delay, Attachment Disorder, undiagnosed motor skills problems, behavioural needs, anxiety, parental split, etc. It is only a tiny school so we know the children very well. It can be hard work, frustrating and often I have felt like banging my head off a wall, but it can be amazingly satisfying to see a child when something 'clicks' for the first time, or they try something they think they can't do - and with practice do it. There are days when I have gone to the staff room to scream and days when I have done my happy dance. Working in mainstream with children with special needs - whatever they are - is not the easy option some of my colleagues in the special unit think it is. They are supported and surrounded by trained staff, I am often on my own although with the support of a busy teacher who has the rest of the school. 'Experts' can be hard to get hold of and working in a rural community - even harder to get them to make an appearance.

I guess I am saying, I would go mainstream when I can. One child I have worked with in mainstream gradually changed to the special unit. It was more able to meet her needs, her need to learn life skills - shopping, money handling, cooking, road safety, independence, etc. in town than in a rural setting.