ABSTRACT
When the Warnock Committee in 1978 reported upon the education of handicapped children and young people the concept of ‘special educational needs’ was central to its thinking. This concept was to replace the previous categorisation of handicapped pupils enshrined in the 1944 Act and subsequent Regulations. The intention of the statutory categories had been to ensure that local authorities made provision, in special or ordinary schools, for a wide range of disabilities. By 1959 the categories were as follows:
Blind pupils
Partially sighted pupils
Deaf pupils
Partially hearing pupils
Educationally subnormal pupils*
Epileptic pupils
Maladjusted pupils
Physically handicapped pupils
Pupils suffering from speech defect
Delicate pupils
The Warnock Committee acknowledged the value of the categories in focusing upon the existence and needs of different groups of handicapped pupils but came to the conclusion that the categorisation was nevertheless unsatisfactory. Many children had more than one disability and a single label concealed additional needs. The essentially medical nature of most of the categories did not necessarily have any
bearing upon educational need. The use of such categories also unhelpfully implied that children who shared a disability would be suited by similar educational provision. In many instances the category label could be stigmatising and remain with the child beyond the school period. This particular categorisation might also be an obstacle to special provision for many children whose needs were acknowledged but who failed to fall neatly into any statutory category. However, the perpetuation in categories of ‘the sharp distinction between two groups of children-the handicapped and the non-handicapped’—was the most compelling argument for the Committee in recommending their abolition.
