KAREN Turner's concerns about the potential loss, or changed nature of, the Chalet School are well founded (letter, July 26).

While the Government claims to be committed to increased choice in matters of education, the reality for many parents of children with special educational needs is that of 'enforced inclusion'. They cannot choose an appropriate specialist educational setting for their child, either because they are not told about any options other than their local mainstream school, or because special schools and units have been closed.

The situation with regard to the Chalet School appears to parallel that of the borough's primary unit for severely dyslexic pupils, now closing. Children are not identified and recommended for placement, so numbers fall and LEA officers can argue the provision is no longer needed and uneconomic to maintain.

Currently, only 25 out of 42 places at the Chalet School are filled and various proposals for its future are being considered. An alternative course of action would be to encourage the relevant professionals to identify children who would benefit from this specialist setting and support parents in taking up the empty places. One wonders whether it is incompetence or ideology that prevents them from doing so?

Children deprived of the school environment, curriculum and expertise they need in order to thrive and learn effectively are often disadvantaged for life; the stress on their families is enormous.

ELSPETH WOLLEN

St Andrews Court