Childhood disability and parental appeals: the Special Educational Needs Tribunal for England and Wales

The Special Educational Needs Tribunal in England and Wales was established in 1993 to resolve disputes between local authorities and parents, relating to children's special educational needs. This paper provides a brief historical perspective to the Tribunal, and sets out its composition, legal powers and procedures. It considers the number and nature of appeals heard by the Tribunal and analyses their outcomes. Research centred on evaluating the Tribunal's performance is summarised and discussed. Finally, some current issues regarding the Tribunal system are discussed and its balance of judicial powers and professional expertise is considered in an international context.     

From Scotswood Road to Alexandra House

Chris Marshall graduated in psychology at the University of Durham in 1964. After teaching in Croydon he was appointed an assistant educational psychologist (EP) in Newcastle upon Tyne, subsequently doing his formal EP training at Birmingham University. Some research on seven–year–old readers led to an M.Ed. from Newcastle upon Tyne and in 1970 he returned to Durham as a lecturer in the Institute of Education, tutoring the one–year diploma course in remedial education. In 1976 he became principal educational psychologist of Northamptonshire. He was also involved in part–time teaching and tutoring for the Open University, including the course on the teaching of reading. In 1978 he was appointed HMI, where he remained until his retirement in 2001. He became leader of the special needs team in 1984 and in 1987 the professional head of the Assessment of Performance Unit. He subsequently acted as adviser to the DfEE on assessment, and on appeals and complaints in relation to the 1981 Education Act. He was involved in the setting up of the SEN Tribunal. The final part of his career from 1996 was again as the special needs team leader for HMI, now part of Ofsted.     

Special Educational Needs and the Issue of the School Prospectus

Regulations require the school prospectus to contain information on special educational needs (SEN). Ian Copeland, lecturer at The University of Reading shows that half of the schools sampled omitted to do so. He discusses the schools' depiction and classification of SEN pupils, the assumptions made about the prospectus, strategies for SEN pupils, and the opportunities presented by the new Code of Practice.     

The Code of Practice: boon or burden?

Garry Hornby, Senior Lecturer in Special Education, University of Hull, focuses on the positive and negative aspects of the Code of Practice which are beginning to emerge as schools attempt to implement its requirements. he considers positive aspects of the Code and suggests that some major challenges need to be addressed in order to bring about the intended improvements in provision for children with SEN.     

The New Tribunal: First Responses

Special Educational Needs Tribunal: Consultation Paper on Draft Regulations and Rules of Procedure was issued on February 9 by the Department for Education (DFE). The draft regulations and draft circular derive from sections in the 1993 Education Act which replace the present 'flawed' system of local authority appeals committees with a new independent system to deal with appeals against LEA decisions about statements of special educational needs. Jack Rabinowicz, chairman of the Education Law Association (ELAS) and a partner in a London firm of solicitors, and John Friel, a London barrister who leads the special educational needs interest group in ELAS and is the father of a child with a statement of needs, give their first reactions.     

Discouraged Children: when praise does not help

Teachers are now legally required to provide effective education for the 'more difficult-to-teach' children, and both the 1994 Code of Practice and the DfE circulars on Pupils with Problems stress 'teacher enablement' as an element in whole-school development policies. Gerda Hanko, author and SEN staff development tutor, examines the kind of in-service provision appropriate to the needs of 'discouraged children', who are not motivated by praise.     

Special Education in Parliament

The Draft Code of Practice on the Identification and Assessment of Special Educational Needs lays down a five-stage procedure for responding to special educational needs (SEN). Announcing the launch of consultations on the code in the House of Commons on October 26, Schools Minister Mr Eric Forth described it as 'setting a whole new framework for special education in the future' and as 'a major step forward'.     

Working towards Inclusive Education: Social Contexts

ABSTRACT

Special education in England has developed over a large number of years, during which changes in philosophy and practice have been charted in Acts of Parliament. Current thinking was given focus by the recommendations of the 1978 Warnock Report, many of which have been implemented. The most recent legislation relates to the establishment of Statements of Special Educational Needs (SEN), the introduction of a Code of Practice, recognition of the role of parents and of the need for multi‐professional cooperation, the integration of children with SEN into mainstream classrooms and the right of access of all children to a broad and balanced curriculum, as articulated in the National Curriculum.     

The real implications of ‘benevolent’ SEN reform

Consultation of the DfE's Green Paper, Support and Aspiration: A New Approach to Special Educational Needs, provoked considerable debate among public and private sector professionals, parents and young people over the planned special educational needs reform. Since then, publication of the Children and Families Bill in 2013 indicates definitive changes in law, while the revised SEN Code of Practice, which will provide professional guidance, is awaited. There are implications to this reform beyond those which have already been published, although alluded to in the Green Paper. This article will explore the influence of language in the deconstruction of disability, the implications of raising the threshold before a categorisation of SEN applies, concerns arising from implementation of the Single Assessment Process and, finally, how funding reforms will negate some of the anticipated benefits for parents and their children.     

Person-centred reviews and transition: an exploration of the views of students and their parents/carers

The person-centred review (PCR) is a model for the review of a student’s special educational needs (SEN) which places the young person and their family at the centre of the process. This mixed-methods, exploratory study investigated the views of 16 students with SEN aged between 10–11 years (Year 6) and 13–14 years (Year 9), and their parents/carers on their PCRs (which were mostly held at transition). Attention was paid to potential changes in the young people’s locus of control and feelings towards school. Findings indicated that the PCR is a collaborative, constructive and reassuring process for families where a wealth of information is shared openly and honestly within a relaxed, yet structured, meeting. The young people were generally positive about the process, although many felt daunted beforehand. Some parents felt the meeting was too long and not entirely accessible to children. The study did not conclude that the young people’s locus of control or feelings towards their education changed following the PCR. Implications for good practice are discussed, particularly for educational psychologists and in the context of the SEN and Disability Code of Practice.     

论古典诗词的用典手法

典故是古代诗词曲常出现的人物、历史故事和有来历出处的词语等。不了解典故的含义,就无从理解作品的主旨。从用典目的看,可以类比其人或其事,也可以对比其人或其事。用典类型有明典、暗典、反典等。     

Accelerating the Progress of Failing Readers: An Evaluation of the Enable–Plus Programme Pilot Study

Supporting pupils who experience difficulties with reading is a perennial concern. In this article, Phil Bowen and Jane Yeomans discuss the Enable–Plus programme, implemented in the two primary schools in Sandwell during 2000 and 2001. The authors set this initiative in the context of the National Literacy Strategy, the Additional Literacy Strategy and the revised SEN Code of Practice . The results are encouraging. Many pupils make significant progress. The programme enables other pupils, with needs that require further targeted intervention, to be identified and effectively supported. The scheme is now being expanded into further schools.
Phil Bowen is an area team and teacher manager and Jane Yeomans is an educational psychologist. They both work for Sandwell Inclusion Support, a multi–professional SEN support service. Both authors have considerable experience of working in the mainstream and special education sectors and have particular interests in reading support and the effects of reading failure on curriculum access.     

The Code of Practice through LEA eyes

Christopher Dyer is a Monitoring Officer (SEN) with the London Borough of Newham and Honorary Secretary of The National Association of Advisory Officers for Special Education (NAAOSE). He places the Code of Practice in its hisotrical context, considers it through the eyes of a Local Education Authority Officer, provides a critical appreciation of the good and the less good aspects, and offers his thourghts on the opportunities and the dangers.     

Bystanders’ roles and children with special educational needs in bullying situations among preschool-aged children

Despite the growing body of evidence that the origins of bullying lie in early childhood, very little is known about the nature of the phenomenon in preschool groups. The current understanding among studies conducted in the school environment is that bullying prevention can only be effective if training with individual children takes place parallel to broader interventions in the classroom. The aim of this study was to examine how bullying prevention should be focused among under school-aged children. Since we know that children with special educational needs (SEN) have been found to be extremely vulnerable to bullying and victimization, we examined the role of three- to six-year olds with SEN in bullying situations. In addition, we examined whether the peripheral roles of other children in bullying situations can already be observed in preschool groups. The data were collected from a survey of day care staff in the city of Vantaa (n = 771). According to staff reports, 18% of bullying took place in situations in which children with SEN were present. Bullies with SEN used more physical forms of bullying and bullies without SEN used more psychological forms of bullying. The findings also showed that the multiple, peripheral roles of the bystanders in bullying situations are already occurring in preschool groups, especially among boys. It is important to target intervention programs in preschools both on individual children and at group level.     

The Code of Practice in schools: learning from Recording of Achievement

The debate about the Government's Code of Practice on the Identification and Assessment of Special Educational Needs has largely been concerned with procedural matters and resource implications, and not about developing appropriate teaching and learning responses to children with special needs. Robin Richmond (formerly a Senior LEA Inspector for SEN, now a Registered Inspector and Educational Consultant) argues that the process of Recording of Achievement has much in common with, and can inform, the school based stages of assessment in the Code of Practice. Recording of Achievement is an approach to assessment which recognises individual achievement, and in the process, identifies individual learning needs, and involves the learner in reviewing progress and setting new targets. It is, like all effective special education, child centered.     

Students' views on special educational needs courses in Initial Teacher Education

Philip Garner, Senior Lecturer in Special Education at Brunel University, examines the views of a small group of students who have recently completed an initial teacher training course (primary). They raise concerns about the nature and extent of SEN coverage, both in college-based work and in school placements, leaving many feeling unprepared to meet the demands of the Code of Practice.     

Children’s play behaviour and social communication in integrated special day-care groups

This paper considers the role of the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO), the teacher responsible for the implementation of policies relating to the teaching and learning of children with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream schools in England and Wales. SENCOs also have a role to play in the inclusion of children with learning difficulties/disabilities in mainstream schools. Yet research indicates that despite the revision of the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice in 2001, many SENCOs are still overwhelmed by the operational nature of the role with little support, time or funding to consider more strategic aspects of inclusion and SEN. The article draws on research by the author and offers the voices of SENCOs from two unitary authorities in the north of England which suggest that where the SENCO is supported by senior management within the school, the role can be a powerful one in relation to inclusion. It concludes by arguing that the role of the SENCO needs to be re‐conceptualized, redefined and remunerated as a senior management post within mainstream schools. If this were to be enforced by national policy, every mainstream school could have at least one powerful advocate for the inclusion of children with learning difficulties/disabilities.     

Teachers reviewing Annual Reviews

Phyllis Jones, Senior Lecturer (Special Educational Needs), and John Swain, Reader in Disability Studies, at the University of Northumbria, report on the first stage of a qualitative investigation into participants' views of, and feelings about, Annual Reviews. Although this article was submitted before the publication of Special Educational Needs: Consultation Document on the Proposed Revision of the SEN Code of Practice (DfEE, 1999), both highlight the need 'to reduce the paperwork required of schools and of LEAs in relation to annual reviews' (p.4). The Document does not envisage any fundamental change to the current regulatory framework for Annual Reviews but this small-scale study highlights the pressing need for organisationalreform.     

Emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD): the special educational need justifying exclusion

Students identified with emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD) present a special case within special educational needs (SEN) and inclusion. EBD is perhaps the only category of SEN that exposes a child to increased risk of exclusion as a function of the very SEN identified as requiring special provision in the first instance. Students identified with EBD share an increased risk for disruptive behaviour. The use of exclusions as a strategy for responding to the special educational needs of these children is contrary to the notion of inclusion. Exclusions, by definition, reduce the ability of schools and associated agencies to work with children identified with SEN. Assuming a positive school effect on the academic and social development, reducing and/or interrupting the continuity of attendance via sanctions such as exclusion may exacerbate negative socio–behavioural developmental patterns, compounding identified risk factors and associated deleterious socio–emotional and cognitive/learning outcomes.     

Putting back the ‘E’ in ‘EBD’

This paper argues that recent developments in the curriculum and in administrative structures for pupils with special educational needs have fended to marginalise the term ‘emotional’ or to combine it loosely with ‘behavioural’. It looks at the influence of forty years of behavioural psychology on the UK Code of Practice for children with SEN and related government circulars and suggests an alternative model for conceptualising emotional difficulties. This is not only current with mainstream psychology but can be fraced back to pre-Christian thinking. If the term ‘emotional’ is to be used in statements and IEPs in the future, the paper suggests, then appropriate ways of defining, assessing and providing for these will have to be found.