Further changes to Special Education 2000 are welcome but highlight the ad hoc nature of the policy's implementation, Labour education spokesperson Trevor Mallard said today.

Trevor Mallard said the Government had put the families of hundreds of children in special education attached units through more than two years of intense uncertainty which had created a huge amount of stress.

"This is not a brave step forward for Dr Smith. It is merely removing the uncertainty and the threat of closure from hundreds of attached units around the country," Trevor Mallard said.

"They should have never been put through the ringer like they have and it's a poor reflection on the implementation of Special Education 2000.

"This is the fifth patch-up job the Government has been forced to announce for this policy. If they listened more carefully to what people in the sector said, and acted on their advice, they would not have to constantly play catch-up," Trevor Mallard said.

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