bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Drifting Towards Segregation
Authors: Budgell Phil
Published: May 2007

Information collected in Sheffield during the last 10 years indicates that the growing number of children with Down's syndrome who begin their school life in the mainstream drift towards special schools as they grow older. At every change of school some children move from ordinary schools into schools for children with varying degrees of learning difficulty. While all six pupils receiving education at pre‐school stage were integrated only one child in the 13–16 years age range was still in the mainstream. Why should this be? Dr Phil Budgell, educational psychologist with Sheffield School Psychological Service, suggests some possible answers.
School and Clinic Work Together
Authors: Callias Maria , Rickett Julia
Published: May 2007

Teachers in a south London comprehensive school met regularly with clinic staff from the Maudsley Hospital to find new approaches to children with behaviour problems. Their liaison from 1975 to 1983 is described by Maria Callias, principal clinical psychologist, Maudsley Hospital, and Julia Rickett, psychiatric social worker, now at the Department of Psychological Medicine, University College Hospital, London.
Peers as Paired Reading Tutors
Authors: Winter Sam
Published: May 2007

Pupils from the peer group can be more effective as reading tutors than the parents of children with reading difficulties suggests Sam Winter, formerly an educational psychologist in Cleveland, now lecturer in educational psychology at Hong Kong University.
Special Needs and the GCSE
Authors: Ramsden Don , Thompson Mary
Published: May 2007

What provisions are to be made in the new GCSE examinations for candidates who need special consideration because of their special educational needs? Don Ramsden, Secretary, East Midland Regional Examinations Board, and Mary Thompson, Secretary, East Anglian Examinations Board, describe the background to the new examinations and the proposed guidelines relating to ‘handicapped’ candidates to be issued shortly.
Arguing against the Special Allowance
Authors: Mongon Denis
Published: May 2007

The special schools' allowance should be abolished. Its existence, always questionable, cannot be justified at a time of growing integration, suggests Dr Denis Mongon, a teacher with 15 years' experience in special education, including six years when he received the special schools' allowance.
Handwriting Skills in Children with Spina Bifida: Assessment, Monitoring and Measurement
Authors: Hancock Julie , Alston Jean
Published: May 2007

The authors describe a handwriting programme conducted with handicapped pupils and illustrate it by three case studies. Julie Hancock teaches at Glossop Green Middle School, Crawley; Jean Alston is senior lecturer in special education, Crewe and Alsager College of Higher Education.
Educating Sarah: A Study in Integration
Authors: Bowdler David , Deliczny Lorna
Published: May 2007

The integration of children with spina bifida into ordinary schools has been well documented but the integration of such children into service schools abroad raises additional problems. David Bowdler, area educational psychologist, Service Children's Schools, North West Europe, and Lorna Deliczny, until recently special unit teacher, describe the difficulties faced in the mainstreaming of Sarah, a pupil in the special unit, Heide School, Fallingbostel, West Germany.
Data‐Pac: What's in it for Teachers?
Authors: Leadbetter Peter , Winteringham David
Published: May 2007

Data‐Pac materials which enable teachers, in conjunction with educational psychologists, to compile individual programmes of tasks and targets for children with learning difficulties are being used in a growing number of LEAs. Peter Leadbetter, senior educational psychologist, Birmingham Education Department, and David Winteringham, senior educational psychologist, Coventry Education Department, describe how the programmes work.
Will Circular 6/86 Frustrate the 1981 Act?
Authors: Daniels Harry , Sandow Sarah
Published: May 2007

The implications of DES Circular 6/86 are discussed by Harry Daniels and Sarah Sandow, who are engaged in in‐service education for teachers in special education, at the West London Institute of Higher Education.
Getting Ready to Leave
Authors: Mittler Helle , Buckingham Anne
Published: May 2007

Weekly group sessions in social and life skills were offered to a class of physically handicapped school leavers. Helle Mittler, senior social worker, Manchester Child Guidance Service, and Anne Buckingham, home school liaison teacher, Telford School, Manchester, describe the group members and the sessions and offer some suggestions.
Active Approaches to Social Education
Authors: Lindoe Sylvia , Bond Julia
Published: May 2007

An active approach to personal and social education, now familiar in many secondary schools, has been adapted to working with pupils in a range of special schools through an in‐service programme for staff. Sylvia Lindoe, senior lecturer, Westhill College of Education, Birmingham, and Julia Bond, deputy head, Alice Stevens School, Coventry, describe the project.
Assessing the Effects of Teaching a Learning Disabled Child
Authors: Jeffries K. , Pring T.
Published: May 2007

Kim Jeffries studied psychology at The City University. She now teaches at Welsh House Farm School in Birmingham. Tim Pring was a teacher in special education. He now lectures in psychology at the Centre for Clinical Communication Studies at The City University. The authors describe a teaching programme to improve a handicapped pupil's graphic and visual perceptual skills. They provide also an example of the evaluation of results with a single subject, thus taking up a theme in the article by Hancock and Alston in the prior number of the Supplement.
When Parents Become Partners
Authors: Widlake Paul
Published: May 2007

How can the suspicion barriers between teachers and parents be brought down? Paul Widlake, honorary lecturer, Centre for Educational Guidance and Special Needs, Manchester University and part time lecturer in the special needs section, Dudley College of Technology, discusses the issues and offers some examples of good practice.
Teaching Transfer Strategies to Children with Moderate Learning Difficulties
Authors: Sugden David , Newall Margaret
Published: May 2007

Dr David Sugden is the tutor to courses in special educational needs at the School of Education, Leeds University. Mrs Margaret Newall teaches in a special school; in 1984–5, as a research assistant at Leeds University, she took part in a study of ways to improve learning and memory in pupils with moderate learning difficulties.
Science Materials for Special Needs
Authors: Tunnicliffe Sue Dale
Published: May 2007

Science opportunities for children with special educational needs are often restrictive, sometimes non‐existent. Books and teaching programmes designed to meet their needs are still relatively few. A new American approach which not only offers hands‐on and problem‐solving experience but is also designed for teachers who are not science‐trained is arousing interest among British teachers too. Sue Dale Tunnicliffe, team leader of the primary science and technology advisory teachers, London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, describes the new materials.
Room Management is not Enough?
Authors: Ware Jean , Evans Peter
Published: May 2007

Teachers of children with profound and multiple learning difficulties generally find room management to be a useful approach but it may not be sufficient to help the least responsive children. Jean Ware, lecturer, and Dr Peter Evans, senior lecturer, special needs, Institute of Education, London University, suggest that development of turn taking skills may also need to be encouraged.
Aiming ARROW at Learning Targets
Authors: Lane Colin
Published: May 2007

Teaching approaches whereby young children listen to their own recorded voices as a means of improving reading, writing, memory and other skills have begun to be developed. Some of the advantages of ARROW, described here by Dr Colin Lane, head of the special unit, Hugh Sexey Middle School, Blackford, Somerset, are that it has been applied to a wide range of learning difficulties and curriculum areas, is economical in teaching time and can be organised by teaching assistants, parents or other volunteers.
Learning to Talk to Parents
Authors: Dawson Neil , McHugh Brenda
Published: May 2007

Why are so many teachers reluctant to make talking to parents a priority? In the Warnock Report, the 1981 Education Act and, more recently, the Fish Report teachers were urged to form ‘partnerships’ with parents. Yet very little progress has been made in this direction with the parents of children with emotional and behavioural difficulties. Neil Dawson and Brenda McHugh are two ILEA teachers who have been using a family systems approach in the Marlborongh Family Service Education Unit for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties in north west London. In this article they explore the question, ‘Why is it so difficult?’ and share their ideas and experiences of possible solutions.
Interaction as Curriculum
Authors: Nind Melanie , Hewett Dave
Published: May 2007

New ways of stimulating a response from ‘difficult to reach’ pupils with multiple handicaps are often sought, less often found. Melanie Nind and Dave Hewett describe their interactive approach which is based on ‘mothering’ skills and is in contrast with objectives‐based methods. Both authors teach at Harperbury Hospital School, Hertfordshire.
How Classroom Assistants Respond
Authors: Woolf Malcolm , Bassett Steven
Published: May 2007

Few if any surveys have been published about the characteristics, attitudes and professional relationships of ancillary staff working in special schools. Although the sample studied by Malcolm Woolf and Steven Bassett consisted of only 27 respondents, their findings are interesting in view of the scarcity of literature on the subject. The authors summarise the findings and make recommendations about future policy towards classroom assistants. Malcolm Woolf is deputy head, Endeavour School, Brentwood, Essex, and Steven Bassett is head, Northend Primary School, London Borough of Bexley.
One‐Year Courses: the Teachers' Views
Authors: Watson Judith
Published: May 2007

Longer in‐service courses for teachers are giving way to skillsbased training. There are many criticisms of this trend but not so many studies to assess the effectiveness of the two contrasting types of training. Sebba and Robson (1987) evaluated some of the shorter intensive courses. Dr Judith Watson, Department of Special Educational Needs, Moray House College of Education, Edinburgh, assesses the effects of a one‐year course on their professional development as seen by teachers taking part.
Misunderstandings, Miscues and Maths
Authors: Daniels Harry
Published: May 2007

Most primary school teachers are faced with the problem of trying to help young children with learning difficulties to understand elementary arithmetic. Harry Daniels, lecturer in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Educational Needs, Institute of Education, London University, suggests one approach to solving the teaching problems that these children present.
A Summer School in Social Skills
Authors: Flynn Alun
Published: May 2007

The advantages of training children in social skills is now being recognised but time for carrying out such programmes during school hours is often limited. One alternative is to organise a summer school. Alun Flynn, educational psychologist, Kent School Psychological Service, describes the programme for primary school pupils with social and behavioural difficulties which he organised during the summer holidays.
‘Mary Doesn't Talk’
Authors: Lumb Derek , Wolff David
Published: May 2007

Most teachers of young children have a reasonable chance, during their careers, of coming across at least one child who will not talk in certain situations, such as in school. This article offers advice (and, it is hoped, some comfort) to teachers who encounter a child who persistently refuses to speak. These children are often described as ‘elective mutes’ and frequently infuriate anddistress all those around them. Derek Lumb is a peripatetic support teacher in the school support services based at the Claremont Centre, Huddersfield. David Wolff is an educational psychologist with the Kirklees Psychological Service.
Evaluating Short, School‐focused INSET Courses in Special Educational Needs
Authors: Sebba Judy , Robson Colin
Published: May 2007

Project Impact, a DES‐funded project which began in 1983 for a three‐year period, was conducted jointly between the Hester Adrian Research Centre and the Education Department at Manchester University, and Huddersfield Polytechnic. The project had three parts: the development and evaluation of short courses; the development and evaluation of a modular diploma; and a follow‐up study of the Education of the Developmentally Young (EDY) package. This paper focuses on the benefits of evaluating short INSET courses in special educational needs. Judy Sebba is an honorary research fellow at the Hester Adrian Research Centre. Colin Robson is Professor in the Department of Behavioural Sciences at Huddersfield.
Use of the Touch Sensitive Screen with Children who have Special Educational Needs
Authors: Elf Beverley
Published: May 2007

This article is based on the dissertation for the degree of B. Ed (Honours) awarded by Birmingham University in July 1987 to the author when she was a student at Westhill College Birmingham. Beverley Elf is now teaching at Mandeville School, Ealing.
Integration: the Coleshill Experience
Authors: Carpenter Barry , Fathers Jeremy , Lewis Ann , Privett Rosemary
Published: May 2007

The integration of children with severe learning difficulties into mainstream schools is threatened by the 1988 Education Reform Act. Its continuation and expansion may largely depend on the type and degree of support available from LEAs and individual schools. Barry Carpenter and Jeremy Fathers, head and deputy head respectively at Blythe School, Ann Lewis, lecturer in education, Warwick University, and Rosemary Privett, integration support teacher at Blythe School, describe Blythe's integration projects and the role of the integration support teacher, which will be crucial in maintaining mainstream links ‘at a time when … integration might wane’.
IT Support for Employment
Authors: Busby Geoff
Published: May 2007

Geoff Busby is director of a project recently launched by the British Computer Society, IT Support for the Disabled. This aims to draw the attention of employers to the ways high technology can enable more disabled school leavers and adults to go into open employment in a widening range ofoccupations.
A Survey of Parents' Views
Authors: Dawson Ron , Kierney Joyce
Published: May 2007

This survey of parental perceptions of special schooling for pupils with moderate learning difficulties is, as the authors recognise, a modest one which includes methodological flaws and question bias. Nevertheless, given the relative lack of data in this area, the findings deserve to be more widely known. In addition to suggesting a strong consensus of parental support for some special schools the article indicates the need for LEAs to involve and consult both parents and teachers in any proposed programme of special school closures. Ron Dawson is a principal lecturer in special educational needs at King Alfred's College, Winchester, and Joyce Kierney is deputy head of a school for children with moderate learning difficulties in Staffordshire.
Child Abuse: A Case for Change?
Authors: Kiernan Chris
Published: May 2007

Allegations of physical and emotional abuse of children with special educational needs in residential schools are an issue of widespread concern. Professor Chris Kiernan, director, Hester Adrian Research Centre, Manchester University, outlines the present predicament and proposes some measures which might help to ease it.
Teaching Children in Hospital
Authors: Wiles Paddy
Published: May 2007

Provision of education for children in hospitals in Britain is variable and uneven. At a time when all areas of education are under review, the value of provision for this class of special educational need deserves consideration. Paddy Wiles has been a part time teacher in the Oxford Hospitals Education Service for 17 years. She undertook this study for the M.Phil. degree of the Open University.
INSET and the Whole‐School Approach
Authors: Galloway David
Published: May 2007

The implications of a whole‐school approach for school‐focused in‐service training are discussed by David Galloway, lecturer in educational research, Lancaster University.
Getting to Grips with Aided Communication: An Overview of the Literature
Authors: Williams Mark , Grove Nicola
Published: May 2007

Despite the growth in the development and use of communication aids and systems for those with special educational needs their use within informal situations is limited. Established interventional programmes do little to further communicative competence in those who depend upon aids beyond the selection and prescription of augmentative systems. The authors illustrate the differences between ‘aided’ and ‘normal’ communication and outline an intervention strategy which aims to modify the behaviour of both interactive partners. Mark Williams is a lecturer at Dene College, Tonbridge. Nicola Grove is a speech therapist at Mapledown Special School, Barnet. The material in this paper was developed for current Makaton Symbols courses in the UK and abroad.
Assessing Functional Vision Using Microcomputers
Authors: Spencer Simon , Ross Malcolm
Published: May 2007

Assessment of the functional vision of visually handicapped children is currently carried out by teachers using materials which are visible because they reflect incident light. The back‐lit, light‐emitting screen of the microcomputer can present two‐dimensional images more closely matched to the ‘optimum’ than is possible through conventional means. Microcomputers have a part to play in the assessment of functional vision in the classroom. The authors, who are Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) research associates at Birmingham University's Research Centre for the Education of the Visually Handicapped (director: Dr M.J. Tobin), describe the software produced by some years' research at that centre.
The PrIME Project
Authors: Shuard Hilary
Published: May 2007

Hilary Shuard, director of the PrIME Project, based at Hamerton College, Cambridge, relates the project's work to children with special educational needs doing mathematics. She also relates PrIME's work to the National Curriculum.
Electronic Blackboards or Microworlds?
Authors: Jones Christopher F.G.
Published: May 2007

The implications of incorporating interactive media in special education are described by Christopher F.G. Jones, Interactive Video Unit, Research Project, Donaldson's School for the Deaf, Edinburgh. The author was a Churchill Travelling Fellow in 1987 and he draws on this experience in this article.
Local Management and Schools
Authors: Peter Margaret
Published: May 2007

In their concern about the National Curriculum and its implementation from next September many teachers have not yet looked closely at the Education Reform Act's provisions for local management of schools. Margaret Peter, journal editor, attempts to summarise the relevant Sections of the Act, taking effect from September 1990, and some of the key issues arising.
LMS: Implications for the 18 Per Cent
Authors: Doyle Peter , Rickman Roger
Published: May 2007

Peter Doyle and Roger Rickman, London borough of Harrow, report the reactions of a group of headteachers to the prospect of paying for support for pupils with special educational needs under local management of schools. As Harrow is a largely middle class borough with exceptionally high attainments in GCSE and A Levels, are reactions here likely to be typical of those in other local authorities?
How should we define Exceptions?
Authors: Norwich Brahm
Published: May 2007

‘Modifying’ or ‘disapplying’ the National Curriculum – what do these terms mean? Neither is clearly defined in the Education Reform Act, statutory instruments or circulars. Yet both begin to apply from this month onwards as the National Curriculum is introduced into schools. Guidance from the Department of Education and Science is urgently needed, suggests Brahm Norwich, lecturer in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Educational Needs, Institute of Education, London University.
Creating Music with Micros
Authors: Drake Adele
Published: May 2007

Adele Drake, director of the Drake Research Project, Blackheath Concert Halls, London, continues the theme of ***microtechnology and music for pupils with special educational needs from the Journal. June 1986 and March 1987 issues.
Design & Technology: New Directions
Authors: Rodbard Phillip
Published: May 2007

The Design and Technology Working Group appointed to advise the Secretary of State on design and technology, and on information technology for ages five to 16 reported in May. The joint comments of the Secretaries of State and the report of the Design and Technology Working Group together form the formal proposals for attainment targets and programmes of study published in June. Phillip Rodbard, associate lecturer in education, Brunel University, and in‐service trainer on CDT and special educational needs, discusses the report, on which views need to reach the National Curriculum Council by September 22.
The Language and Communication Content of FE Courses for Students with Severe Learning Difficulties
Authors: Roulstone Sue
Published: May 2007

This article reports an investigation in further education colleges in the north west of England into the language and communication content of courses for students with severe learning difficulties. The inquiry was undertaken for the M.Ed degree of Liverpool University. Sue Roulstone is currently the chief speech therapist at Bristol Royal Hospital for Sick Children and teaches part time at Bristol Polytechnic.
Further Education and the 1988 Act
Authors: Betts Derek
Published: May 2007

This month colleges of further education will have new governing bodies under the provisions of the Education Reform Act. Their composition and their size, combined with the effects of local financial management, may change the range and quality of courses for students with special educational needs. Derek Betts, education secretary, National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education, describes and comments on the changes taking place.
The ‘Geography’ of Classroom Learning
Authors: Lucas Deborah , Thomas Gary
Published: May 2007

Too little attention may have been paid in the past to the importance of classroom layout in reducing or increasing children's learning difficulties. Although the approach described by Deborah Lucas, educational psychologist, London borough of Croydon, and Gary Thomas, senior lecturer, Oxford Polytechnic, is not a panacea for learning difficulties, both authors believe matching classroom ‘geography’ to teaching aims and styles may prevent certain difficulties from arising.
Introducing the Children Act
Authors: Russell Philippa
Published: May 2007

Many readers may not yet be aware of the provisions of the Children Act 1989. It comes into effect next year and offers both challenges and opportunities for teachers and other professionals as well as for children with special educational needs and their families. Philippa Russell, principal officer, Voluntary Council for Handicapped Children, summarises some of the main sections of the Act and those most relevant to education.
‘Vive le français!’ at Priory School
Authors: Spencer Peter
Published: May 2007

Priory School for pupils with moderate learning difficulties in Bury St Edmunds began modern foreign language (MFL) teaching nearly three years ago, well before the arrival of the National Curriculum. Peter Spencer, headteacher, describes how pupils have responded to learning French and comments on the initial advice recently given by the Working Group for MFL in the National Curriculum.
Don't be Daunted by LMS!
Authors: Charlesworth Judith
Published: May 2007

Oakleigh School in the London borough of Barnet was one of the first special schools to experiment with local management after LMS provisions became law under the 1988 Education Reform Act. Judith Charlesworth, head of the school, describes the school's first 12 months under the new system.
Screens for Earliest Skills
Authors: Watts Trevor
Published: May 2007

The National Curriculum will soon be in force for children who have profound and multiple learning difficulties, and it will have to be modified to meet their needs. The work at Kinder School in Worksop, described by Trevor Watts, headteacher, is pre‐National Curriculum in chararcter and level but much of it relates to skills in the new curriculum.
Mathematics in Transition
Authors: Williams Alec
Published: May 2007

Including pupils with special educational needs within the National Curriculum calls for substantial changes in content and approach in all subjects ‐ including mathematics. Alec Williams, formerly headteacher of Stokesbrook special school, Gloucestershire, and tutor to special education diploma courses in Hull and Lincoln, reports and reflects upon the changes. He seeks to retain and enhance that which is best from traditional practice, within the requirements of the National Curriculum.
Promoting Interaction among Children with Special Educational Needs in an Integrated Nursery
Authors: Stephenson Sue
Published: May 2007

The author teaches at the Kingsley Special School, Kettering. She gives an account of systematic observations undertaken to improve the integration of four young children with special educational needs in a nursery department. The field work forms part of her studies for the degree of MA (Special Needs) at Leicester.
Another Time, Another Place?
Authors: Clarke John
Published: May 2007

Sections 3 and 4 of the 1988 Education Reform Act include geography as one of the compulsory foundation subjects in the National Curriculum and empower the Secretary of State to specify attainment targets, programmes of study, and assessment arrangements for geography for children of compulsory school age. The Geography Working Group appointed to advise the Secretary of State on geography reported in April and its recommendations for attainment targets, programmes of study and statements of attainment were published in June in its final report. John Clarke, senior adviser (monitoring and evaluation) Suffolk Education Authority and author of Humanities for All (1989). discusses the problems likely to arise.
Industry Moves into the Curriculum
Authors: Matthews Margaret
Published: May 2007

Economic and industrial understanding is one of the cross‐curricular themes which the National Curriculum Council sees as running through the whole curriculum and on which the NCC has now issued guidance. Meanwhile the School Curriculum Industry Partnership (SCIP) had had over 12 years' experience in widening industrial understanding in schools, Margaret Matthews, Yorkshire and Humberside coordinator for SCIP, describes some of the work which has been going on in special schools.
Managing with SIMS
Authors: Quaife David
Published: May 2007

Information management systems will become increasingly used by schools as pupil assessments and local management of schools develop. David Quaife, head of Delamere School for pupils with severe learning difficulties, Trafford Education Authority, has been using such a system for the past year.
The History of Special Education: Social Control or Humanitarian Progress?
Authors: Cole Ted
Published: May 2007

The author is principal of Eden Grove School, Appleby, Cumbria, for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties. He challenges some current interpretations of the aims and motives of those responsible for special education in Britain in the last hundred years or so.
Topics: From Muths to Objectives
Authors: Byers Richard
Published: May 2007

The topic method and the objectives approach to learning have each come in for increasing criticism. Will a synthesis of the two work better for pupils with learning difficulties in the new context of the National Curriculum? Richard Byers, a teacher seconded from Riverwalk School, Suffolk Education Authority, to the National Curriculum Development Team (SLD), Cambridge Institute of Education, describes the experimental introduction of 'integrated schemes of work' in special schools.
What have the Pilot SATs Taught Us?
Authors: Pearson Lea
Published: May 2007

Lea Pearson, chief psychologist and adviser for assessment and achievement, City of Brimingham, and adviser to CATS, one of the three agencies which developed standard assessment taks (SATs) at Key Stage 1, describes this summer's pilot testing. Although the contracts for next summer's SATs at Key Stage 1 have now gone to the NFER consortium, the experiences she describes and the lessons learnt should be relevant to teachers taking part in the national pilot next May.
Assess through Teachers, not Tests
Authors: Bangs John
Published: May 2007

John Bangs, principal officer, Special Needs and Curriculum Initiatives, National Union of Teachers, reports on the reactions of teachers concerned with special educational needs in primary schools to using SATs for assessing pupils at Key Stage 1.
Making Texts More Readable
Authors: Currie Helen
Published: May 2007

Fears that more able pupils in secondary schools will be held back if texts are simplified for mixed attainment groups seem unfounded, suggests Helen Currie, former special needs support teacher; now head, Traveller Education Service, Berkshire.
Autism and the National Curriculum
Authors: Jordan Rita , Powell Stuart
Published: May 2007

Children with autism may be found in a variety of educational settings. All teachers need to consider the very special needs of this group of children and how they may be met within the constraints of the National Curriculum. Rita Jordan and Stuart Powell, School of Humanities and Education, Hatfield Polytechnic, Hertfordshire, look at some of those needs and make suggestions about how to meet them.
Update on Communication Aids
Authors: Lysley Andrew
Published: May 2007

Andrew Lysley, information officer, ACE Centre, Oxford, (National Council for Educational Technology), writes about recent developments in writing and communication aids.
Handwriting in the New Curriculum
Authors: Alston Jean
Published: May 2007

How to interpret and assess the handwriting requirements of the National Curriculum is still far from clear. Dr Jean Alston, editor of Handwriting Review, and formerly senior lecturer in special needs at Crewe and Alsager College of Higher Education, Cheshire, continues the discussion begun by Christopher Jarman in the December 1990 issue of the journal.
Too Eagerly Awaited Assessment?
Authors: Hayes Stephen
Published: May 2007

Stephen Hayes, educational psychologist in the London Borough of Camden, shares the previous writer's view that Section 19 of 1988 Education Reform Act may be viewed negatively. It is, he says, suspected of working against both the integration aims of the 1981 Education Act and the Warnock model of school‐based assessment. However he argues that there is potential compatibility between the curricular integration thrust of the 1981 Act and the introduction of the National Curriculum for all pupils in the 1988 Act. Conflict is more likely to arise within the 1988 Act itself, with the market forces thrust of local management of schools calling into question the continuation of rigorously conducted, school‐based assessment.
Learning Both Ways
Authors: Kempe Andy
Published: May 2007

Few accounts of drama projects and their value for pupils with moderate learning difficulties and other types of special educational needs have appeared in the journal. Andy Kempe, lecturer in drama in education, Reading University, helps to fill this gap by giving an evaluative account of a TVEI‐funded drama project which he coordinated.
Challenging Behaviour in the Classroom
Authors: McEvoy John , McDonnell Andrew , Dearden Bob
Published: May 2007

Challenging behaviour among children with severe learning difficulties has drawn relatively little attention from educationists. Dr John McEvoy, Andrew McDonnell and Bob Dearden, who have been running workshops in behaviour management in Birmingham, seek to explore this issue further and offer their views on policy and training.
Music: Striking the Right Notes
Authors: McCavera Sean
Published: May 2007

Sections 3 and 4 of the 1988 Education Reform Act include music as one of the compulsory foundation subjects in the National Curriculum and empower the Secretary of State to specify attainment targets, programmes of study, and assessment arrangements for music for children aged five to 14. The Music Working Group appointed to advise the Secretary of State reported to June and its recommendations for attainment targets, programmes of study and statements of attainment targets, programmes of study and statements of attainment were published in August in its final report. Sean McCavera, classroom teacher in the secondary department at The Vale School for pupils with physical disabilities, London Borough of Haringey, comments on the proposals.
A Contradiction in Terms?
Authors: Brennan Andrew
Published: May 2007

Andrew Brennan, reader in philosophy, Stirling University, Scotland, questions the views expressed in recent journal articles on philosophical aspects of special education. He moves to the University of Western Australia next month, where he has been appointed to the chair in philosophy.
Differentiation ‐ Way Forward or Retreat?
Authors: Hart Susan
Published: May 2007

How can we most effectively promote the interests of children with special educational needs at the present time? Susan Hart, Cambridge Institute of Education, argues that a focus on ‘individual needs’ may not be the best solution.
The Wider Context: A Free Market
Authors: Thompson David , Barton Len
Published: May 2007

David Thompson and Professor Len Barton, Division of Education, Sheffield University, take a critical look at the wider context in which differentiation is set – the free market approach to schooling and the values which underpin it.
Diversity at Secondary Level
Authors: Hart Michael
Published: May 2007

Michael Hart is head of the learning development department at Whitmore High School, London borough of Harrow. He describes how differentiation has grown in an urban comprehensive school over the past eight years.
Individual Programmes Using IT
Authors: Carr Jim , McGuiness Steve , Oatey Jane , Holder Andrew
Published: May 2007

Jim Carr, Steve McGuiness, Jane Oatey and Andrew Holder, the senior management team at St George's special school in Kent, describe their approach to differentiation using computer‐based individual programmes for their pupils.
Fighting for a New Act
Authors: Massie Bert
Published: May 2007

The Bill on the civil rights of disabled persons was a casualty of the recent general election. Bert Massie who is director of RADAR, and is also disabled, says the fight for legislation to outlaw unjustifiable discrimination must continue.
Art through Knowing and Understanding
Authors: Taylor Rod
Published: May 2007

The subject working group appointed to advise the Secretary of State on art in the National Curriculum reported last June and its recommendations for attainment targets, programmes of study and statements of attainment were published in August in its final report. Rod Taylor, art adviser for Wigan and director of the Drumcroon Education Art Centre, comments on the relevance of the proposals for pupils with special educational needs. Art becomes a foundation subject in September.
Access and Progress in Science
Authors: Duerden Bob , Fortune Don , Johnson Mel
Published: May 2007

Pursuing the theme of differentiation which was the focus of the March issue of the journal, Bob Duerden, Don Fortune and Mel Johnson, members of Humberside Advisory Service, show how programmes of study can be made accessible to all pupils and illustrate their approach with an example from Key Stage 3.
Using GRIDS to Develop the School
Authors: Ashley John
Published: May 2007

GRIDS stands for ‘Guidelines for Review and Internal Development in Schools’. This is a school‐based review process which has been tried out in 15 local education authorities (LEAs) since the mid 1980s. John Ashley, head of Hayfield School for pupils with moderate learning difficulties, Upton, Merseyside, was introduced to this system of review and development when he was working in Oldham, one of the pilot LEAs for testing the GRIDS model.
The Right to Teach, the Right to Learn
Authors: Bush Laurie , Hill Tony
Published: May 2007

Believe that the findings and recommendations of the Elton Committee have much to offer schools for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties, as well as mainstream schools. They outline the way they have introduced ‘assertive discipline’ into behaviour management policy of the school.
Further Education: Starting Afresh
Authors: Cooper Deborah
Published: May 2007

While attention is currently focused on new legislation to do with children of school age, a new act on further and higher education has recently come into operation. Deborah Cooper, director of Skill: National Bureau for Students with Disabilities, discusses its implications for students with disabilities and learning difficulties.
Special Educational Provision after LMS
Authors: Evans Jennifer , Lunt Ingrid
Published: May 2007

Jennifer Evans is lecturer in the Department of Policy Studies and Ingrid Lunt is senior lecturer in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Educational Needs, Institute of Education, London University. This article examines recent and proposed educational legislation from the perspective of its impact on provision for pupils with special educational needs. Some findings from surveys carried out by the authors in English LEAs are presented.
‘We're Doing History’— What Does It Mean?
Authors: Ware Jean , Peacey Nick
Published: May 2007

Is it credible to claim ‘We're doing history’ in schools for pupils with severe learning difficulties or is it merely playing with words? Dr Jean Ware and Nick Peacey believe the claim can be justified through the use of the programmes of study for history in the National Curriculum. Dr Ware is now at the School of Education, University of Wales, Cardiff, and Nick Peacey is at the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Educational Needs, Institute of Education, London University.
Who Cares About Control?
Authors: Peagam Eric
Published: May 2007

Unless teachers receive support and practical guidance on dealing with violent behaviour in special schools and units it will be impossible for them to maintain a service for the pupils concerned. Eric Peagam, now an education consultant in Shropshire, draws on 22 years of experience in special schools when expressing his concerns.
Continua or Chimera?
Authors: Booth Tony
Published: May 2007

‘And on and on …’ Tony Booth, senior lecturer in education, The Open University, questions the uncritical acceptance of the continua of ‘needs’ and ‘provision’ in the draft Code of Practice and their possible implications for the integration of pupils into mainstream schools.
A Study of the Educational Provision for Head‐injured Children
Authors: Jones Anne , Johnson David
Published: May 2007

Anne Jones (of the Froebel Institute College, Roehampton Institute of Higher Education) and David Johnson (Head of the Department of Neuropsychology, Astley Ainslie Hospital, Edinburgh) consider some of the problems experienced by children with head‐injury on their return to school. Although education is an integral part of rehabilitation, the organisation of services and the provision of accurate information, training and communication between different agencies were all found to be inadequate. Given the high incidence of head‐injury, urgent attention to these problems is essential.
Improving Word Recognition for Children with Reading Difficulties
Authors: Merry Roger , Peutrill Irene
Published: May 2007

Immediate word recognition is widely accepted as an important skill in developing fluent reading, but many of the most common words appearing in texts present particular problems to some children with reading difficulties. Roger Merry, a senior lecturer in education at the University of Leicester, and Irene Peutrill, a special needs teacher at Uplands Infant and Junior Schools in Leicester, describe a technique for helping such children, and provide experimental evidence of its effectiveness.
Foreign Languages and Special Needs: Implications for Teacher Support
Authors: Kenning Marie‐Madeleine
Published: May 2007

Marie‐Madeleine Kenning, Lecturer in French and Linguistics at The University of East Anglia, reviews recent developments in modern language teaching for pupils with special educational needs, describes a course mounted by Suffolk LEA for non‐specialists involved in the teaching of French and outlines the forms of support currently available.
This can't be my responsibility: it must be yours! An analysis of a reintegration programme for a school refuser.
Authors: Tansey Kath
Published: May 2007

Kath Tansey, who works for SENSS (County Durham's integrated support service), and coordinates the Home and Hospital Teching Service in Mid‐Durham, discusses some of the issues arising from a case study of a child exhibiting a reluctance to attend school. She emphasises the importance of not overlooking the needs of such pupils and outlines some interesting legislative changes in a field which has often remained on the fringes of LEA provision.
The Placement of Pupils with Down's Syndrome: a survey of one northern LEA.
Authors: Lorenz Stephanie
Published: May 2007

Although the 1981 Education Act encouraged LEAs to integrate pupils with special educational needs, responses varied widely. Stephanie Lorenz, an LEA educational psychologist, considers the effects of legislative change on the integration of a cohort of pupils with Down's Syndrome in one LEA.
Tackling Literacy Difficulties: can teacher training meet the challenge?
Authors: Layton Lynn , Deeny Karen
Published: May 2007

Lyn Layton, a teacher of pupils with Specific Learning Difficulties (dyslexia), and Karen Deeny, a speech/language therapist, are currently researching the phonological awareness of pre‐readers. They consider how initial teacher training might include more attention to the skills which underpin reading and spelling, with a view to giving appropriate support to pupils with literacy difficulties. They argue that, thus prepared, primary teachers will be better placed to prevent such difficulties and to enhance written language skills in all children.
Responding to pupils with severe learning disabilities, who present challenging behaviour
Authors: Harris John
Published: May 2007

John Harris, Chief Executive of the British Institute of Learning Disabilities, desctribes work carried out with teachers and classroom assistants in special schools to establish effective ways of responding to challenging behaviours presented by pupils with severe learning disabilities. He suggests a range of strategies which may be helpful to teachers, their assistants and other professionals.
Dimensions of special needs: a non‐categorical approach to SEN
Authors: Muncey Jim , Palmer Charles
Published: May 2007

Jim Muncey, Chief Education Adviser, and Charles Palmer, Senior Educational Psychologist (both of whom work for the City of Coventry Edcation Service) reconsider the concept of ‘Dimensions’ introduced by Fish (1989). It is suggested that an individual approach to meeting pupils' special educational needs requires a descriptive system which is neither crudely categorical on the one hand, nor completely individualised on the other.
USA: Worldwide school reform movements and students with disabilities
Authors: Henderson Robert A.
Published: May 2007

Robert A. Henderson, Professor of Special Education and Educational Administration (Emeritus) at the University of Illinois at Urbana‐Champaign, USA, considers the implications for students with disabilities of school reform movements.
South Africa: The need for a radical restructuring of specialized education in the new South Africa
Authors: Naicker Sigamoney
Published: May 2007

Sigamoney Naicker, a lecturer in Specialized Education in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Western Cape, provides an analysis of specialized education after one year of the first democratic government in South Africa.
Belgium: A peer‐mediated proximity intervention to facilitate the social interactions of children with a pervasive developmental disorder
Authors: Roeyers Herbert
Published: May 2007

Herbert Roeyers, of the Developmental Disorders Research Group at the University at Ghent, emphasises that the social deficits associated with autism are most obvious during interactions with peers, and that, whereas relationships with adults often improve as children with autism grow older, their interactions with age‐mates remain significantly impaired. A reason for this discrepancy may be their lack of opportunity to interact with other children, and significant improvements in their social behaviour were observed after intervention.
UK: Preventing under achievement: time to shine a light on education in hospitals
Authors: Landy Maria , Colburn Christine
Published: May 2007

Maria Landy, Special Needs Adviser, Devon LEA and President of NASEN, and Christine Colburn, Headteacher with the Exeter Hospital Teaching Service, highlight the educational difficulties faced by children in hospital and stress that Hospital Education is an essential, but often neglected, element in the continuum of educational provision.
Summative National Curriculum assessments of primary aged children with special needs
Authors: Lewis Ann
Published: May 2007

Ann Lewis, Senior Lecturer in Education at the University of Warwick, examines what has been learned about the use of standard tests and tasks with primary age children perceived as having special educational needs. She also raises wider issues about the assessment of all children with special needs and considers the implications for the fostering of supportive school environments for a range of children.
The integration of a very able pupil with Asperger Syndrome into a mainstream school
Authors: Barber Christine
Published: May 2007

Christine Barber, now working with Durham LEA's Special Educational Needs Support Service (SENSS), discusses some of the issues arising from the integration of a very able pupil with Asperger Syndrome into an 11 ‐ 16 comprehensive school. Her case study considers not only the use of acceleration, as a means of ensuring that the pupil reaches his full potential, but also emphasises the need for a structured programme to develop social skills, promote acceptable behaviour, and prepare for life in the adult world.
Multidisciplinary assessment: a case study
Authors: Starr Ann , Lacey Penny
Published: May 2007

Ann Starr, Curriculum Co‐ordinator, Rosehill School, Worcester, and Penny Lacey, Lecturer in Special Education, The University of Birmingham, discuss aspects of the assessment of children with complex disabilities by professisonals from a variety of disciplines. Some of the problems and possibilities of working together are presented in a case study from a special school for pupils with physical and complex disabilities.
The development of a curriculum record at Paddock School
Authors: Walpole Peggy
Published: May 2007

Peggy Walpole, Assessment Co‐ordinator at Paddock School, describes the three‐year development process leading to the creation of a curriculum record covering all areas of the curriculum. It is a tool for planning, assesment and recording, and she believes that the problems addressed and their solutions may be of interest and help to staff in other schools.