A separate school for students with "intense needs " is under active consideration by the Education Ministry.

But mainstreaming for many of the Island's special needs students looks set to continue. The Ministry is looking at giving a small group of parents another choice when it comes to educating their kids.

In a formal statement to the House of Assembly, new Education Minister Paula Cox said that her ministry was grappling with the thorny issue of how to best support special needs students.

"Clearly we must maximise the benefits to our students while providing the necessary care and support, whether this is through special needs teachers, paraprofessionals or therapists," she said.

Opening a special school is just one of the options available, she said. But the minister said that in the past segregating special needs students had done a disservice to some students who had been "inappropriately labelled and educated well below their potential".

"We realise that for many students with special needs, special schools are not the answer," Ms Cox said. And she drew a distinction between students with "intense needs" and the general special needs student population.

"Students with intense needs make up only two percent of the total school population. These are children who are unlikely ever to be able to live independently in the community. They need more than three hours of support each day, they are unable to dress themselves, they cannot follow directions or focus on where they are going and cannot recognise danger."

A survey carried out by the Ministry revealed that some concern among parents of intense needs students that the children are not getting the support they need in regular schools, she said.

"It is in response to their concerns that we are considering whether they would be better served in a special school for students with very particular needs," Ms Cox told her House colleagues. "We are not suggesting that all students with intense needs must attend this school - rather we are looking at ways to offer parents the choice."

The minister stressed that a decision had not been made yet but consultation with the stakeholders - in particular affected parents - was continuing.

"The creation of a new school would raise many questions, such as where a suitable venue might be found, what staff would be needed to run it and what training would need to be provided."

And resource availability would have to be carefully considered, she added.

"There are many potential benefits of a new special school, notably the ability to offer parental choice to parents of students with intense needs," Ms Cox continued.

"We would explore options such as site-based therapy, a lower student ratio and site-based nursing staff."

She pointed out that there were "potential drawbacks" to the idea.

"The students would not have classmates in the same age group and this might result in inappropriate developmental behaviour. There could be extra stresses and strains on the school staff as a result of the intense needs of their population. These are all issues that we wish to discuss openly with those who have an interest in the education system before any decisions are taken."