In this article, Lani Florian, Professor of Social and Educational Inclusion at the University of Aberdeen, examines the relationships between "special" and "inclusive" education. She looks at the notion of specialist knowledge among teachers and at the roles adopted by staff working with pupils with "additional" or "special" needs in mainstream…

Recent developments in the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) have produced a national pupil database (NPD) that contains information about the attainments of individual pupils. Every child in the country has been allocated a unique pupil number (UPN), which means that the academic progress of individuals can be tracked over time. It is…

This article addresses issues raised by the British Audit Commission's report on statutory assessment and Statements of Special Educational Needs (SEN). Questions are raised concerning ideas of "special educational needs,""areas of need," and "categories of handicap"; fair distribution of SEN funding; relationships between assessments and SEN…

This article reports on part one of a three-part survey of provision for 3,084 pupils aged 14 and older in England and Wales who have profound learning difficulties. Results found the students have few opportunities to participate in community life as adults despite the overlapping legal responsibilities of multiple agencies. (Contains…

Discusses the Tomlinson Report, a national review of further education (FE) for students with learning difficulties and/or disabilities in the United Kingdom, which advocated an inclusive approach. Considers the rationale for a philosophy of inclusive learning, improving access to FE, and quality of FE. Principles and recommendations of the…