One in five children in England and Wales are considered by their school to have special educational needs (SEN). Despite the significant numbers involved, they have remained low profile in education policymaking and public awareness. National targets and performance tables fail to reflect schools’ work with them and a lack of systematic monitoring by schools and local education authorities (LEAs) means that poor practice may go unchallenged. Schools have struggled to balance pressures to raise standards of attainment and become more inclusive. This has been reflected in a reluctance to admit and a readiness to exclude some children, particularly those with behavioural difficulties. The existence of separate structures and processes for children with SEN may have allowed their needs to be seen as somehow different even peripheral to the core concerns of our system of education.
One in five children in England and Wales are considered by their school to have special educational needs (SEN). Despite the significant numbers involved, they have remained low profile in education policymaking and public awareness. National targets and performance tables fail to reflect schools’ work with them and a lack of systematic monitoring by schools and local education authorities (LEAs) means that poor practice may go unchallenged. Schools have struggled to balance pressures to raise standards of attainment and become more inclusive. This has been reflected in a reluctance to admit and a readiness to exclude some children, particularly those with behavioural difficulties. The existence of separate structures and processes for children with SEN may have allowed their needs to be seen as somehow different even peripheral to the core concerns of our system of education.
Subject terms:
law, learning disabilities, monitoring, school children, schools, social care provision, special education, special educational needs, teachers, assessment, children, conduct disorders, education, education law;
One in five children in England and Wales are considered by their school to have special educational needs (SEN). Despite the significant numbers involved, they have remained low profile in education policymaking and public awareness. National targets and performance tables fail to reflect schools’ work with them and a lack of systematic monitoring by schools and local education authorities (LEAs) means that poor practice may go unchallenged. Schools have struggled to balance pressures to raise standards of attainment and become more inclusive. This has been reflected in a reluctance to admit and a readiness to exclude some children, particularly those with behavioural difficulties. The existence of separate structures and processes for children with SEN may have allowed their needs to be seen as somehow different even peripheral to the core concerns of our system of education.
One in five children in England and Wales are considered by their school to have special educational needs (SEN). Despite the significant numbers involved, they have remained low profile in education policymaking and public awareness. National targets and performance tables fail to reflect schools’ work with them and a lack of systematic monitoring by schools and local education authorities (LEAs) means that poor practice may go unchallenged. Schools have struggled to balance pressures to raise standards of attainment and become more inclusive. This has been reflected in a reluctance to admit and a readiness to exclude some children, particularly those with behavioural difficulties. The existence of separate structures and processes for children with SEN may have allowed their needs to be seen as somehow different even peripheral to the core concerns of our system of education.
Subject terms:
law, learning disabilities, monitoring, school children, schools, social care provision, special education, special educational needs, teachers, assessment, children, conduct disorders, education, education law;