Study Skills Article Summary

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/sep/22/special-educational-needs-sen-labels-cleansing

The article i have chosen was written by Nicola Clark and appeared in the Guardian on the 22 September 2010. The article was written in response to a recent Ofsted report which found a high proportion of children are wrongly labelled as having special educational needs (SEN). The author disagrees with the findings and argues that stripping children of their SEN labels can in fact be harmful. 


The author argues that without the SEN label the needs of children who do need extra help may be neglected. This may have a negative impact on their behaviour, resulting in exclusions, which can be disruptive to their education.


The author also questions whether the findings of this report are linked to the forthcoming government cuts, which many argue will "target the most vulnerable in our society". Clark also expresses concern that less visibility for SEN children will have the knock on effect of reducing understanding of disability, possibly resulting in increased anti-disabled discrimination.


In conclusion the author is hostile towards the findings of the Ofsted report. As such it is important to note that Clark is herself a mother of two disabled children, as well as being a campaigner on disability issues. Although Clark is well meaning we can not rule out the possibility that in this article Clark is simply expressing her own bias.