PLANS by Central Regional Council to integrate all pupils with special

needs into mainstream schools have attracted the attention of the Tory

MP for Stirling, Mr Michael Forsyth. He calls the plans stupid.

Three schools are involved. The primary section of Dawson Park school

in Falkirk is scheduled to close in the next school year; the 35-pupil

Whins of Milton School in Stirling is earmarked for closure in 1997/98;

and Rossvail special school in Falkirk is due to close towards the end

of the century.

In a letter yesterday to Councillor Corrie McChord, leader of the

Labour-controlled council, Mr Forsyth described the proposals as

''nothing short of destructive dogma''.

He said: ''I can only imagine the anxiety caused to parents by these

stupid proposals, and hope that the council will take the earliest

possible opportunity to announce that they will be abandoned.''

After visiting the Whins of Milton school at the request of parents,

Mr Forsyth said: ''I'm astonished and dismayed to see that the region is

proposing to close all the special schools in its area and to end

parental choice by ensuring that parents have only one option, and that

is to send their children to mainstream schools.''

There was a case for educating children with learning difficulties

within mainstream schools, but an equally good case for retaining

special schools as an option.

''To consider closing a school such as Whins of Milton is an act of

dogma, which is being proposed by an educational authority which will

cease to exist in 12 months' time.

''It's a mystery to me why an education authority would want to

destroy facilities which are doing an excellent job, and have done for

many years.''

Councillor McChord described Mr Forsyth's views as incredible.

He said the MP, now a Minister at the Home Office, had backed

integration while he was Scottish Education Minister, and the Scottish

Office Education Department's policy since 1981 had been that children

with moderate learning difficulties should be provided with support to

stay in mainstream education.

He said the integration had been wholeheartedly endorsed by Mr

Forsyth's successor, Lord James Douglas-Hamilton, as recently as May

1993 in a speech to the Scottish Conference of the National Association

for Special Educational Needs.