This month’s professional update summarises the requirements of the Disability Equality Duty (DED) for the public sector and outlines the steps that schools, colleges and local authorities will need to take to ensure that they comply with new legislative requirements
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When does an LEA education officer owe a duty of care to pupils? How far does this duty extend? Michael Segal looks at important new case law. read more
What duty of care does a school educational psychologist owe a pupil and, if the psychologist is negligent, what damages will the LEA be liable for? read more
The Manifesto for Education Outside the Classroom promotes high-quality outdoor learning experiences to support cognitive skills and aid personal development – gardening fits the bill, says Dr Susan Johnson
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Dr Steve Rayner (School of Education, University of Birmingham) explores recent criticisms of the use of learning styles in education, arguing that they are, when used in well-considered ways, an essential feature of personalised learning. read more
While dyslexia is now widely accepted as a specific difficulty and is becoming better understood, its equivalent in the world of numeracy lags far behind explains Linda Evans
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The National Autistic Society has developed a flexible learning programme to educate teachers working with children with autism in school
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A Summary of DfES Statistical First Release - SFR 42/2005 (September 2005) indicates that in January 2005 nearly 8.3 million pupils attended 25,300 maintained and independent schools in England. Ninety-one percent of pupils were taught in maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools; 7% of pupils attended independent schools; 1% of pupils attended maintained and non-maintained special schools. Overall numbers for each type of placement are listed below: read more
The DfES is currently undertaking a consultation about the development of quality standards for SEN support and outreach services with a strong focus on strengthening inclusion. read more
In its evidence to the SEN inquiry, the charity I CAN calls for a three-pronged strategic programme to actively support children’s speech and language development, comprising: read more
In their report Serious Play: an Evaluation of Arts Activities in Pupil Referral Units and Learning Support Units, Wilkin, Gulliver and Kinder (2005) review the work of seven arts projects (four PRU based and three LSU based) that have taken place in recent years. read more
A recently published review of external SEN support for schools in England highlights variations in both the quality and quantity of services across the country. The review, carried out by Her Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI) also makes a number of recommendations, describes features of effective practice and outlines standards that can be used to identify and develop such practice. read more
Education for young people in secure settings is undergoing radical change. Further work is being undertaken to ensure that educational opportunities in custody are comparable to those in the community. read more
The recently published report Inclusion: the Impact of LEA Support and Outreach Services (July 2005) summarises a review, undertaken by Her Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI) of the quality of external special educational needs (SEN) support available to schools in English LEAs. read more
A unique combination of sound and touch is bringing a whole new world of teaching opportunities into both special needs and mainstream education. read more
This article examines the role of the learning mentor and how they can be deployed in the school for the benefit of the whole learning community. David Morley reports read more
NASEN, QCA and the University of Cambridge have collaborated to produce advice and guidance on using and moderating the P scales. read more