By Ruth Jolley

MAINSTREAM school children could be sent to "Centres of Excellence" to improve specific learning problems, if education plans go-ahead.

In order to strengthen inclusive education for special needs children, Wigan Education Chiefs have suggested creating greater flexibility between mainstream and special schools.

Under their proposed strategy, schools for children with moderate learning difficulties would become "centres of excellence" which mainstream students could attend temporarily for "intensive support."

More MLD children would be taught in mainstream schools with an individual curriculum being worked out for each student according to their needs.

Wigan Council's director of education Robert Clark said: " We want it to be really quite normal for students to go these Centres of Excellence.

"We want to avoid a situation were teachers are faced with children who are making learning impossible but we do not want children excluded from full time education."

Education chiefs have launched a massive consultation exercise on their five-year outline strategy. Various organisations, teachers and parents have until the end of May to voice their opinions.

Last year, Ofsted inspectors reported the borough had too many children in special schools, too many children with SEN statements and that too many children were being sent outside the district. They also called for more secondary special needs provision.

Mr Clark added parents of MLD children are increasingly sending them to mainstream schools. Consequently, spare capacity in MLD schools is available for other types of teaching.

In a bid to cut costs education chiefs may open an autism school in the borough.

Currently, about 150 Leigh and Wigan special needs students have to be educated outside of the borough, having to travel to places like Congleton and Sefton at enormous cost to the borough.

Mr Clark said: "Money could be spent more effectively. There are no cuts involved, it is a redeployment of funds."

And to reduce the number of youngsters with special

educational needs statements, more funds may be spent on identifying problems at an earlier stage.

In the past five years Wigan's early years provision has undergone massive growth and has a budget of £7 million a year.

Mr Clark said: " We are talking about very complex issues that cannot be quickly resolved. The strategy would be implemented over five years."

The proposals are in line with the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001.