ABSTRACT
In theory a ‘special’ education should allow a child to move freely between different kinds of educational provision as their needs change, but in practice once placed in a special school the child’s chances of moving back into mainstream education are not very high. When Max was transferred to a day school for maladjusted children at the age of seven it was recommended that he stay there ‘until he reaches senior age at least’. In fact Max has received another chance and has begun attending an ordinary comprehensive school part-time, but the twists and turns of fate in the form of changes in staff and school organisation, as well as his own personal development, mean that his successful reintegration is by no means certain.
