The Arts in Schools - Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation

7 Special needs156 Reasons We are concerned in this study with the arts for all children.for the Within the nine million or so children attending school inchapter the United Kingdom there are many groups who requirespecial attention to ensure that particular needs and interestsare not overlooked in serving the majority. Some, like stammerers,may require special treatment. Others, especiallythose with emotional or sexual problems, may never beidentified until research discovers their particular need.Some are very large minorities such as the disturbed childrenestimated by a recent Schools Council project to comprise10% of the school population — nearly 1 million children(Wilson and Evans, 1980). All educationalists at all levelshave to provide for the special needs of minorities withintheir care. For many of these the arts have a particularsignificance. We have chosen four such groups to illustratemeasures which may be necessary for the arts to maketheir full contribution here: those with special gifts ortalents in the arts; those who are disabled in some way;those with learning difficulties; and those who belong toracial minorities.157 A com- One of the implications of comprehensive education isprehensive 'that ordinary schools must expect to cater for very manyapproach more special needs, and that the whole concept of childrenwith peculiar difficulties (or indeed peculiar talents) mustbe a natural part of the comprehensive ideal.' 1 In otherwords the needs of all, or most, of the groups we identifyought to be a part of the planning of each school and localeducation authority. This will become clear from a considerationof our four groups. Psychologists, educationalistsand others disagree, for example, about the size and characterof the group of children known as talented, but all agreethat those with special gifts and talents in the arts — perhaps95