Shadow Education Minister Grant Gibbons has welcomed an ongoing review of special needs education in the public school system, calling it “necessary and long overdue”.The review began earlier this year following a recommendation in Ombudsman Arlene Brock’s latest interim report. Ms Brock said she proposed an “audit of existing services and a full policy and strategic review” after her office received several complaints about “gaps” in special needs education.“This is long overdue, and will be to the benefit of both special needs children and their parents,” said Dr Gibbons, noting that special needs services had not been included in the 2007 Hopkins Report on the Island’s education system.“At this point, the reason I would support this is that we really need to do a review to evaluate both the successes and possible failures and look at the changes that need to be made.”Dr Gibbons said the time was right to conduct an “overall review” of special needs education, 15 years after special needs students were first integrated into mainstream classrooms.The Shadow Minister added that changes to existing laws to make provisions for special needs education might be one positive outcome, but said he did not want to prejudice the review’s findings.In her report released this month, the Ombudsman said that the review was necessary because there was a “palpable cynicism and lack of confidence in the Ministry of Education’s resolve, leadership and capacity to tackle the task of providing a suitable education locally for special needs students”.“Bermuda should not once again become a place where only people who can pay or who are the most tenacious advocates can educate their children with special needs,” she wrote.“The country should have an interest in ensuring that all such children receive the training and confidence that will enable them to become functioning, independent and contributing adults. We pay now or we pay later.”