An exploration of parents’ experiences of choosing special school

Abstract

The UK coalition government’s Green Paper (DfE, 2011) stated that the administration intended to “remove the bias towards inclusion and propose to strengthen parental choice by improving the range and diversity of schools from which parents can choose” (p.5). There has been an increase in recent years within the UK of pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) attending a state-funded special school (DfE, 2019b), with a pledge in March 2019 for 3,500 additional special schools placements to be made available across the UK (DfE, 2019a). Recent research in Australia has suggested that the complexity of deciding between regular and special schools is compounded by the influence of professionals and accessing reliable information, meaning that parents’ choices do not reflect their actual preferences (Mann, Cuskelly & Moni, 2015). There is however limited research currently around the experiences of choosing special school for parents in the UK. This research thesis examined the views of parents of pupils in UK special schools: to gain an understanding of the reasons behind parents choosing special school and the extent to which they feel they had an independent, informed choice of school. The research considers how these choices are facilitated in schools and supported by professionals. It also considers parents’ views around high-quality, inclusive education. The research employed a two-phase, mixed methods explanatory sequential design. Phase 1 employed the use of questionnaires in order to address the above aims (the questionnaire was adapted from that of Bagley et al, 2001). Participants were sampled across three local authorities in the South West of England and administered through special schools and via social media. The inclusion criteria stated that the children of the parents sampled had to have been attending a special school for at least 12 months. Phase 2 of the research employed semi-structured interviews, with a volunteer sample drawn from parents who participated in Phase 1 (purposively sampled to reflect a range of parental views, experiences and demographics). As per the explanatory sequential design, the interview schedule was devised based on an interim analysis from Phase 1 (using the Phase 1 data collected by October 2019). Sixty-eight percent of participants suggested that they did not feel that they had a real choice between special school provision and other types of provision (e.g. more than one option that was good enough), with 49% indicating that mainstream school was completely inappropriate for their child (the modal response). ‘Real choice’ was explored as a multi-faceted concept for parents (related to the number of school choices, with appropriateness of mainstream school, and quality of facilitation and professional support- supporting parents to be aware of options- also being influential factors. The research also suggests that parents experienced more of a difficult choice when they felt mainstream school was appropriate for their child, suggesting a dilemma. The majority of parents indicated feeling well-informed and supported by professionals throughout the process. 76% of participants however felt that the system of parental choice of school should be improved. Finally, the parents in this research presented a clear view of inclusion which is contrary to the ‘inclusion as all children under one roof’ philosophy (Warnock, 1978). Accessing a shared academic curriculum was not considered to be effective inclusion for these parents. Instead, this was for their child to feel a sense of belongingness and acceptance in their setting, and to be accessing an appropriate curriculum for their needs. Parents felt that this was best achieved in separate, specialist provision. This small-scale research provides a detailed insight into the views and experiences of parents of children with special educational needs (SEN) in the South West of England, who have made a choice between mainstream and special school, and an examination of the factors underlying both positive and negative experiences. The implications for national policy and for the practice of EPs are considered, as well as recommendations for future research.