The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on special educational needs. It announced measures to improve training for teaching staff, designed to ensure that special educational needs was a national priority in schools.
Source: Government Response to the Education and Skills Committee Report: Special Educational Needs, Cm 6940, Department for Education and Skills, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Response | MPs report | DfES press release | NUT press release | NAS press release | BBC report | Children Now report
Date: 2006-Oct
A report said that a significant number of children had some level of language or communication difficulty: up to 10 per cent of all children had a long-term persistent communication disability, and upwards of 50 per cent of children on school entry had more transient difficulties. Without solid foundations in language and communication skills, children ran the risk of school failure, low self-esteem, and poor social skills. The report examined the cost of poor communication skills to the individual, the family, and to society as a whole.
Source: The Cost to the Nation of Children s Poor Communication, I CAN (0845 225 4071)
Links: Report | BBC report
Date: 2006-Oct
The Learning and Skills Council launched its first national strategy for learners in further education with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, covering the period 2006-07 to 2009-10. The strategy included £35 million additional investment to improve provision by 2007-08.
Source: Learning for Living and Work: Improving education and training opportunities for people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, Learning and Skills Council (0870 900 6800)
Links: Strategy | LSC press release
Date: 2006-Oct
Researchers confirmed the potential of an integrated approach to multiple assessments for children with significant and complex health needs and/or disabilities; and the value of flexibility (rather than one particular model) in responding to local circumstances and needs.
Source: Janet Boddy, Patricia Potts and June Stratham, Models of Good Practice in Joined-up Assessment: Working for children with significant and complex needs , Research Report RW79, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Date: 2006-Sep
Improvements were recommended in the planning and funding of further education (post 16) for people with learning difficulties. But responses to a consultation expressed concern over proposals to stop funding by the Learning and Skills Council for the health and care elements of education packages.
Source: Through Inclusion to Excellence: An Analysis of the Responses, Learning and Skills Council (0870 900 6800)
Links: Report | LSC press release | Community Care report
Date: 2006-Aug
A report by a committee of MPs said that the system of education for pupils with special needs in England was "not fit for purpose". It called for stronger government guidelines for local councils to end a "postcode lottery" of provision. Ministers should clarify their policy on whether to include special needs children in mainstream schools or educate them separately.
Source: Special Educational Needs, Third Report (Session 2005-06), HC 478, House of Commons Education and Skills Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Mencap press release | NAHT press release | NUT press release | NASEN press release | BBC report | TES report | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Jul
The education inspectorate said that there was little difference between mainstream and special schools in the quality of provision for pupils in England with special educational needs. Pupils were equally likely to make good progress in both types of school: but they had the best chance of progressing in mainstream schools with special units. Pupils with social, emotional, and behavioural problems received "too little help too late".
Source: Inclusion: Does it Matter where Pupils are Taught?, HMI 2535, Office for Standards in Education (07002 637833)
Links: Report | DRC press release | NUT press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Jul
An article examined the 'Valuing People' programme (the government's policy framework for learning disability). It said that the programme contained contradictory elements that simultaneously supported and confronted social processes that created inequalities and oppression.
Source: Mark Burton and Carolyn Kagan, 'Decoding Valuing People', Disability & Society, Volume 21 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Jun
A Member of Parliament introduced a Bill which provided for special educational needs statements to be scrapped, and replaced with profiles created by educational psychologists; for a national funding agency to be established to pay for the profiles; and for a special educational needs standing commission to be created in order to accredit the assessor of children with special educational needs, to hear appeals against profiles, and to offer advice to the funding agency about budgetary needs.
Source: Special Educational Needs Bill, John Bercow MP, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard
Date: 2006-Jun
There were 1.53 million pupils in England with special educational needs in January 2006 - 56,660 more than the year before, even though school rolls fell overall. More than 1 in 4 of all boys aged 7-10 had special needs.
Source: Special Educational Needs in England: January 2006, Statistical First Release 23/2006, Department for Education and Skills (0870 000 2288)
Links: SFR | BBC report
Date: 2006-Jun
A report said that children with exceptional requirements were being admitted in the name of inclusion into mainstream schools in England without the proper resources to meet their needs. Classroom staff went "beyond the call of duty" to help children with special educational needs: but it was widespread practice for teachers to give special needs pupils almost entirely into the care of teaching assistants, even though few had suitable training.
Source: John MacBeath, Maurice Galton, Susan Steward, Andrea MacBeath and Charlotte Page, The Costs of Inclusion: A study of inclusion policy and practice in English primary, secondary and special schools, National Union of Teachers (020 7388 6191)
Links: NUT press release | DRC press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2006-May
A report said that children from certain ethnic minority groups encountered racist attitudes and differential treatment in school, with the result that they were more likely to be identified as having behavioural problems or special educational needs.
Source: Geoff Lindsay, Sulochini Pather and Steve Strand, Special Educational Needs and Ethnicity: Issues of over- and under-representation, Research Report 757, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Date: 2006-May
An article examined the effect of schooling on the aspirations of young people designated as having mild learning difficulties or emotional and behavioural difficulties.
Source: Lorraine Casey, Peter Davies, Afroditi Kalambouka, Nick Nelson and Bill Boyle, 'The influence of schooling on the aspirations of young people with special educational needs', Educational Research, Volume 32 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Apr
A report examined how to involve people with learning difficulties in research projects.
Source: Jackie Downer et al., Let Me In I m A Researcher! Getting involved in research, Department of Health (08701 555455)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Apr
The report was published of a national audit of support, services, and provision for children with low-incidence special educational needs. The study sought to gain a picture of how local authorities met the needs of the children concerned, to explore any gaps in provision, and to examined how gaps could be addressed.
Source: Peter Gray et al., National Audit of Support, Services and Provision for Children with Low Incidence Needs, Research Report 729, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report | DfES press release
Date: 2006-Mar
A report said that regional partnerships had made a substantial and marked contribution to the government s agenda regarding provision for pupils with special educational needs.
Source: Felicity Fletcher-Campbell, Tamsin Chamberlain and Paula Smith, Evaluation of the Special Educational Needs Regional Partnerships, Research Report 724, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Date: 2006-Mar
A report evaluated services designed to ensure that parents and carers of children with special educational needs had access to information, advice and guidance on SEN matters, in order to support them in making informed decisions about their child's education and to reduce the need for formal disagreement resolution. It found that the services were valued by parents, and enhanced local SEN provision and services: but local authorities needed to play a much more pro-active role.
Source: Ruth Rogers et al., Evaluation of the Special Educational Needs Parent Partnership Services in England, Research Report 719, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Date: 2006-Feb
Researchers evaluated the impact of legislation in Scotland (effective from August 2003) which introduced the presumption of mainstreaming in relation to pupils with special educational needs.
Source: Anne Pirrie, George Head and Paul Brna, Mainstreaming Pupils with Special Educational Needs: An evaluation, Scottish Executive (web publication only)
Date: 2006-Jan
