Section:GDN 1N PaGe:20 Edition Date:190907 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 6/9/2019 17:51 cYanmaGentaYellowbl
- The Guardian Saturday 7 September 2019
(^20) National
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Page 55
Review of special
needs education as
government admits
families struggling
Richard Adams
Education editor
The government is to review the pro-
vision and funding of special needs
education for children in England,
after the education secretary, Gavin
Williamson, admitted that many fam-
ilies faced struggles as a result of the
government’s reforms.
The introduction of education,
health and care plans (EHCP) in 2014
was followed by a steep rise in the
number of children and young people
acknowledged as having special needs
and disabilities , with local authorities
and schools complaining of funding
shortages and families of long delays
in receiving diagnosis and support.
“Our reforms in 2014 gave vital sup-
port to more children but we know
there have been problems in deliver-
ing the changes that we all want to see.
So it’s the right time to take stock of
our system and make sure the excel-
lence we want to see as a result of our
changes is the norm for every child
and their families,” Williamson said
in announcing the review.
Last week the government said that
special needs education in England
would receive an extra £700m from
next year, which Williamson said
was “to make sure these children can
access the education that is right for
them”.
The Department for Education
said the review would look at how
support had evolved since 2014 and
help tackle the lottery of provision
according to which children in one
area receive less than children with
the same needs in another area. It will
Olympic
champion
Semenya
swaps
athletics
for football
Sachin Nakrani and agencies
The two-time Olympic 800m gold
medallist Caster Semenya appears
to be preparing for a career outside
athletics after joining a women’s foot-
ball club.
The 28-year-old is appealing against
a decision by the court of arbitration
for sport, which approved the Inter-
national Association of Athletics
Federations’ introduction of a new
testosterone limit for female athletes.
The governing body introduced the
rule change because, it argues, female
athletes with diff erences in sex devel-
opment (DSD) – such as Semenya
- have “a competitive advantage”.
Under the rule, all athletes with
a DSD should reduce their blood
testosterone to a specifi c level for at
least six months – and maintain that
for the rest of their athletic career – in
order to compete in events from 400m
to a mile.
Semenya has remained “steadfast
in her defi ance” and so is unable to
defend her 800m world title in Doha
this month without taking hormone-
suppressing drugs. The South African
has started training with the Gauteng-
based JVW football club with a view to
making her debut next season.
“I am grateful for this opportunity
and I appreciate the love and support I
already get from the team,” she told the
club’s website. “I am looking forward
to this new journey, and hopefully I
can contribute as much as I can to the
club.”
The club’s founder and South Africa
captain, Janine van Wyk, said: “I am
absolutely honoured that out of all theRELEASED BY "What's News" vk.com/wsnws TELEGRAM: t.me/whatsnws