TreeHouse, the national charity for autism education, noted with interest the publication of The Conservative Party Draft Education Manifesto, published today (18 January).

The manifesto states that “We (the Conservatives) will make it easier for teachers to use reasonable force to deal with violent incidents and remove disruptive pupils from the classroom without fear of legal action”

In response to this Jolanta Lasota, TreeHouse Chief Executive, commented:

“It is crucial that all teachers are given more training in autism and other special educational needs to ensure they understand the difference between disobedience and disability; and that children with a disability are not inappropriately excluded. It is also vital that teachers are accountable to schools, families and others concerned.”

In response to The Conservatives’ call to “end the bias towards the inclusion of children with special needs in mainstream schools,” Jolanta went on to say:

“It is also essential that education provision is based around the needs of the child and that of parental choice. Every child should have the right to access the most appropriate education that will enable them to fulfil their potential. This may be a mainstream or a specialist setting, with staff who are appropriately trained to understand and meet the child’s needs.”

Read the full Conservative Party Draft Education Manifesto by going to: http://issuu.com/conservatives/docs/drafteducationmanifesto