Supporting the Ordinary School

In the wake of the Education Act 1981, the Department of Education and Science commissioned three major research studies. These were concerned respectively with: in-service training (Manchester University and Huddersfield Polytechnic); the implementation of the Act (London University Institute of Education); and support for the ordinary school (National Foundation for Educational Research). All the studies were completed by 1986, and numerous publications have resulted from them. Dr Seamus Hegarty, deputy director at the Foundation, summarises findings from the NFER study.