Case study 1 Changning District Special School,

The first class in China for students identified as ‘mentally retarded’ was opened in a deaf school in Shanghai in 1979, two years after the reintroduction of selection by ability in mainstream schools and seven years before there was a national policy commitment to making education accessible to all students. In 1982, a purpose-built school was opened, which is respected for its significance in China’s educational history. Changning School was the first school I visited in China and I have returned several times since then.