Audit Commission Praises Milton Keynes for its Special Needs Education

2.34.43pm GMT Mon 8th Nov 2004

Milton Keynes is leading the way in helping children with special educational needs, according to a new survey from the Audit Commission.

The Commission has just published the results of its nationwide school survey, which shows that local schools are noticing many improvements in the support and services they receive from Milton Keynes Council.

The provision for children with special educational needs and their families was seen by schools to have been transformed since the last survey in 2002. In the survey, undertaken during the summer, the 10 questions put to schools for their views on special education needs (SEN) demonstrated that all were now between 'Satisfactory' and 'Good'. This is a marked improvement on the previous survey, which rated nearly all aspects of SEN as 'Below Satisfactory' or 'Poor'.

The Council's school improvement division was also praised by headteachers as it continued to make progress from a position of strength in the 2002 survey. In particular, support for numeracy and literacy in schools had risen to between 'Good' and 'Very Good', with schools' views of numeracy support from the Council the highest out of all 150 LEAs surveyed in 2004. The Audit Commission is now recommending other LEAs to visit and learn from Milton Keynes as an example of best practice for numeracy support.

Commenting on the report, David Gamble, Joint Head of Education (Planning and Standards) said: "The Audit Commission survey is an independent and vital health check on how schools feel we are meeting their needs. The 2004 results show that we have improved in many areas over the past two years and it is satisfying and motivating for colleagues here to see this, and to know we now have a number of areas where we are in the top category of results."

Councillor Sandra Clark, Liberal Democrat Cabinet member for Education said: "I am particularly proud of the Special Education Needs survey results. The hard work and dedication of the SEN team have transformed the way the service is perceived by Milton Keynes schools since the last survey in 2002. We look forward to building on this success still further and delivering our SEN vision for Milton Keynes of 'high expectations - high achievement'."

She added: "This report clearly recognizes the excellent joint working between the Council and our local schools. Long may this continue."