A four-year investigation of 200 British children with language impairments found that they performed all of the British National Curriculum's Key Stage 2 assessments poorly. After full-time placement in language units at 7, 171 of the children were found to continue education in a variety of placements with provision for special education needs…

This article explores the implications of recent British government initiatives for pupils who experience difficulties in literacy development. It focuses on the contradictions between the inclusive requirements of the National Curriculum and the prescriptive pedagogy of the National Literacy Strategy. The effect of these contrasting policies and…

This commentary discusses publication of QCA guidelines on developing the curriculum for pupils with learning difficulties. It links the guidelines to the recent review of the National Curriculum and identifies some of the contributions these guidelines can make to planning, teaching, and assessment. Challenges for practice and research are…

This article responds to a commentary (Colwill, Peacey) that discusses publication of QCA guidelines on developing the curriculum for pupils with learning difficulties. While acknowledging that the guidelines will lead to an evolution of good practice, it urges staff to continue to appreciate and value their own development work. (Contains six…

Describes a framework for teaching British National Curriculum subjects to pupils with profound learning difficulties. Discussion focuses on curriculum adaptations, educational rationale for subject selection, insights from subject specialists, and integration of therapies, health care, and emotional support within education. (DB)

This article addresses curriculum development for students with severe, profound, and multiple learning difficulties in the context of British National Curriculum requirements. It suggests that practitioners have recognized the dangers of "complementary curricula" but are using the concept of "subjects as contexts of experience" to address…

This article addresses current features of initial teacher education in England, including the impact of the National Curriculum, the need for more school-based training, and the "permeation" of issues concerned with special educational needs (SEN) into the entire teacher education curriculum. A survey of recent graduates at four institutions…

Proposals for a British national curriculum and national assessment procedures are discussed in terms of a timetable for implementation, the foundation subjects, relevance of subjects to children's lives, attainment targets and testing, and children with special educational needs. (DB)

The article looks at the degree to which special educational needs are addressed by the new British national curriculum initiatives for 14- to 19-year-olds. A survey of special needs coordinators in the Sheffield schools concluded that special education needs to be in the forefront of whole-school curricular change. (DB)

The speech by the Assistant Secretary of the Special Education Division of the Department of Education and Science explains the options for flexibility possible in meeting the needs of handicapped students under the new British National Curriculum. (DB)

In assessing pupils with special educational needs in conjunction with the provisions of Great Britain's National Curriculum, three areas should be distinguished: planning the next step for pupils' learning, assessing pupils' levels of achievement, and assessing the quality of education offered. (JDD)

This paper summarizes and comments on recommendations of the Modern Foreign Languages Working Group concerning attainment targets, programs of study, and statements of attainment in Great Britain's National Curriculum. Strategies used in modern language instruction in Berkshire's special schools are described. (JDD)

This paper examines the complexity of teaching handwriting to meet the requirements of Great Britain's National Curriculum. Three major questions are considered: (1) what should be taught? (2) what are the teaching objectives? and (3) how will pupil progress be assessed? (JDD)

A survey of 60 special schools serving physically disabled children (ages 14-16) in England and Wales determined that 70 percent of the schools did not teach foreign languages, and small percentages did not offer history, music, and geography. The impact of the National Curriculum on these students and schools is discussed. (JDD)

This paper comments that problems with Great Britain's Key Stage 1 standard assessment tasks (SATs) for pupils with special educational needs involve the SATs design and use. Issues discussed include activity-based assessments, adaptations, time demands, step size, future development of SATs, and disapplications of the National Curriculum. (JDD)