The education of young people with profound and multiple learning difficulties continues to raise challenges and controversies. In this article, Ben Simmons, an ESRC funded PhD student and research assistant, and Phil Bayliss, programme director for the masters degree in special education and disability, both based in the School of Education and…

The contribution of teaching assistants, learning support assistants or classroom assistants is becoming increasingly important in inclusive and specialist classrooms. In this article, Marjatta Takala, professor in special education at the University of Helsinki, describes her research into the work of 14 classroom assistants working in a mix of…

There have been many research projects studying the use of peer intervention strategies to develop the social, communication and interaction skills of children with autism, yet few of these studies focus in detail on the impact of such strategies on the mainstream peers. In this article, Val Jones, an advisory teacher for autism spectrum…

In this article, Catherine Adams, clinical senior lecturer in speech and language therapy at the University of Manchester, and Julian Lloyd, senior lecturer in psychology at Newman College, Birmingham, describe the implementation and effects of an intensive programme of speech and language therapy for children who have pragmatic language…

Guidance and legislation in the UK suggest that it is becoming increasingly important to listen to the voices of pupils, to acknowledge their rights and to consult and collaborate with them in the development of personalised approaches to their education. In this article, Jackie Ravet, lecturer in inclusive practice at the University of Aberdeen,…

In this article, Janice Wearmouth, formerly professor of education at the University of Wellington, New Zealand and now at Liverpool Hope University, Rawiri McKinney, an advocate for Rangatahi who has recently completed his Master of Education degree, and Ted Glynn, foundation professor of teacher education at the University of Waikato, discuss…

In this discussion paper, Suzanne Mackenzie, senior lecturer with responsibility for the special educational needs BA and MA programmes at the University of East London, reviews previous research in order to identify changes in the role of the special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCo) in schools in the UK. She provides an overview of the…

This article, written by Fiona Hallett, pathway leader for the inclusion and special educational needs masters programmes at Edge Hill University, Graham Hallett, senior lecturer for special educational needs and inclusion at the University of Cumbria, and Mary McAteer, programme leader for an M level professional development programme at Edge…

In this article, Ann Lewis, Professor of Education at the University of Birmingham, and Ian Davison, Jean Ellins, Louise Niblett, Sarah Parsons, Christopher Robertson and Jeremy Sharpe from the research team provide a summary of discussions and selected recommendations arising from four linked projects run between 2004 and 2006. The projects were…

Consultation with pupils with learning disabilities through the use of person-centred planning methods is becoming increasingly common. However, little research has focused on pupils with multi-sensory impairment (MSI). Kim Taylor has taught children with special educational needs for over 25 years and holds a post-graduate diploma in…

In this article, Anthony Feiler, senior lecturer in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Bristol, and Elaine Logan, lecturer in early years education at the City of Bristol College, present a case study of a child who made strong progress with literacy during his first year at school. The child and his family participated in the…

Relatively little research has focused on parental perceptions and experience of educational provision in mainstream settings for children and young people with autism. Much of that which has been undertaken (and certainly that which is most widely cited) has tended to rely on samples which may not be sufficiently representative. In the study…

There has been an increased commitment to gifted and talented education in the UK in recent years, with a national strategy of grant-funded programmes. However, research into the effectiveness of gifted programmes is relatively limited. This paper, written by Anne Morgan of the Centre for Education and Inclusion Research at Sheffield Hallam…

Tandi Clausen-May is a principal research officer in the Department for Research in Assessment and Measurement at the National Foundation for Educational Research. In this article, she examines the accessibility for learners with special educational needs of some of the mathematics questions from tests used in the 2003 cycle of two international…

Becoming the parent of a child diagnosed with learning disabilities can have a dramatic impact. Chrissie Rogers, the author of this article, is both a lecturer in education studies at Keele University and the mother of a daughter who has learning disabilities. She argues here that the pressures on mothers to produce "perfect" babies and to meet…