UK Government 'not happy' over autism provision

The provision for children with special educational needs (SEN) in schools "has got to get better", UK education minister
Lord Filkin has said.


His comments follow an Ofsted report published last week revealing that while schools were increasingly committed to SEN
there was still much to be done.


There are 90,000 to 120,000 children with autism in Britain, but the vast majority are integrated in mainstream
schools.


Audit Commission figures put SEN spending in schools at around ?3.5 billion, 15 per cent of the total school budget.


But Lord Filkin said the Government is 'not happy about whether the system is as yet delivering good enough results.'


The volume of parents resorting to tribunals to get the best education for their child was particularly worrying. According
to the National Autistic Society, this went up by 47 per cent between 1999 and 2003.


"It does raise questions of a system where it is all too easy for it to feel that it's the parent in conflict with the
education authority and the school", Lord Filkin said.


Earlier this week, the National Autistic Society warned of a "terrifying gap" in provision and support for autistic
adults.


President Jane Asher said sufferers were often neglected by their local authorities once they reached adulthood.


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