A support group for children with Down Syndrome and a Bradford special school which has scooped numerous awards are fighting plans for a massive shake-up of special education across the district.

Bradford Council is proposing to close ten special schools and replace them with three primary and three secondary developments, which will be on mainstream sites.

A consultation was carried out by Education Bradford on behalf of the Council to gain parents' and teachers' views. The Schools Organisation Commit-tee will discuss the findings at its next meeting on Tuesday, May 10, at City Hall from 2pm.

The aim of the huge review is to give more children with special needs places within mainstream education.

Members of the Down Synd-rome Support Group are opposing the plan because they say it will limit educational choices available to families with Down Syndrome children.

They believe there will not be enough specialist resources to cope with larger groups of pupils with special needs within special and mainstream schools.

Group co-ordinator Wendy Uttley recognised work was needed to ensure staff were given special training to teach Down Syndrome pupils, and said this was beginning.

"However, we feel that it is now time to co-ordinate these developments and plan the educational services that need to be in place if they are to fully meet the needs and inclusion of our children now and in their future," she said. The group was also worried many staff would not know how to use Makaton, a special sign language which many youngsters with Down Syndrome use to communicate.

Civil servant Julie Wood, of Shipley, a member of the support group, said she was worried about her five-year-old son Christopher's future under the proposals. "I would like to see that everything is carefully considered for all children to ensure they get the best education," she said. "Our main concerns are what will happen when they go to secondary school and we want to be reassured they will have the right resources."

Haycliffe Special School, in Little Horton, which caters for 11- to 19-year-olds, is battling against the closure. The school, in Haycliffe Lane, has won a string of awards, including the Npower School of the Year Award for 2005 on Friday for its sporting achievements. Head teacher Keith Fair said this was 'proof the school works.'

And he said they were concerned that, under the review, more children with Moderate Learning Difficulties (MLD) would no longer be admitted to special schools but would be taught in mainstream schools.

"Our colleagues in mainstream schools may not be fully aware of the needs related to MLD," he said.

Haycliffe's chairman of governors Richard Carney said the school had a tradition of supporting a wide range of pupils and that this would be lost under the new plan to allocate pupil places under transport catchment areas rather than needs.

"The review is denying parents' choice of provision by making all schools identical when local evidence shows an increase in complex needs, both medical and learning," he said.

Denise Faulconbridge, Educ-ation Bradford's director of access and inclusion, said: "There have been very few objections. Both these objectors' views will be considered with other comments. The proposals offer a unique opportunity for the district to have 21st century special school provision."

Phil Green, Bradford Council's director of education and schools, said: "These comments will be taken into account when the matter is considered by the Schools Organisation Comm-ittee, which is independent of the Council, in May."