Education: Letter - Absent minded treatment of truancy

As a retired teacher still involved in the work of a primary school for children with emotional and behavioural problems, I am appalled by the proposed methods of dealing with truancy.

Our school, catering for a large area in south west London, has excellent facilities for about 60 pupils. In the past we were successful in returning many of them to mainstream education with appropriate levels of attainment and confidence at year seven.

Partly because of a policy that sees emotionally and behaviourally disturbed children as on a par with physcially handicapped children (who can, in many cases, have their special needs provided for in mainstream schools without ruining the school life of their classmates) and mostly - I fear for financial reasons - we seldom have 20 pupils in our special school these days.

Apparently it is thought better to leave "problem" children in mainstream education until they are excluded or truant (of course many children are not disturbed but bored in school and that is another problem). How can it benefit anyone, least of all the culprits, to have them returned by the police?

Given the opportunity (with residential places provided for the severely disturbed elsewhere) our school can provide a caring, safe environment for emotionally and behaviourally disturbed children to achieve their individual potential and a place in society. Why are we prevented from doing this?

Gwen Reekie

Twickenham