A county council is planning tranfer more children with special needs from special schools into mainstream education and is calling on parents, teachers and other interested parties to give their views on the plans.

A series of meetings are being held by Gloucestershire County Council in the Forest of Dean area during February so that those with an interest will be able to find out what the plans are and pass on their views for preferred options.

The first is tomorrow when people will be briefed on the council's plans, including the future of the area's two special schools.

Most of the children currently being taught in special schools will stay there until the end of their education so the plan's major impact will be on future generations of children, says the council.

In future, the authority wants to see more children with special needs educated in mainstream school with specialist support staff and "appropriate facilities".

There are 16,000 children with special educational needs in the county - about 20 per cent of all pupils.

The council argues that it offers more special school places than most other counties which leads to £2.5m in transport costs - the equivalent of 100 new teachers.

It also means that Gloucestershire is spending less money than almost any other county on providing the appropriate teaching and support in mainstream schools for pupils with special needs.

The consultation meetings are February 1, 7.30pm, Heywood School; February 5, 7.30pm, Whitecross School; February 15, 7.30pm, Lakers School.