The Education (Special Educational Needs) (Amendment) Regulations 1990
These Regulations amend the Education (Special Educational Needs) Regulations 1983 (“the principal Regulations”). In addition to minor and drafting amendments, they make the following changes of substance. They replace the terms “deaf” and “blind”, used in regulation 5 of the principal Regulations, with the terms “hearing impaired” and “visually impaired”, and make provision regarding the seeking of educational advice in respect of a child who is both hearing impaired and visually impaired (regulation 2(4) and (6)). They amend the definition of “qualified teacher” in regulation 5(4) of the principal Regulations in order to take account of the power in section 218 of the Education Reform Act 1988 to make regulations relating to the employment of teachers (regulation 2(5)). They amend regulation 10 of, and the Schedule to, the principal Regulations in order to take account of section 18 of that Act, so that a statement of a child’s special educational needs is to specify any modifications to, and any exclusions from the application of, the provisions of the National Curriculum, and the provision substituted for any such exclusions in order to maintain a balanced and broadly based curriculum (regulation 2(7) and (13)). They also amend regulation 10 of the principal Regulations so as to ensure that such a statement specifies any non-educational provision proposed to be made by the local education authority as well as any such provision to be made available by certain other specified bodies (regulation 2(9)). They permit a child’s statement of special educational needs to be disclosed to a local authority in their performance of certain duties, relating to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, imposed on them by the Children Act 1989 (regulation 2(12)).