This article details an experimental project in Estonian schools, using therapeutic dance and movement as a basis to explore beyond the boundaries of language in supporting young people to develop their creative expression. The author visited three residential schools in different areas of Estonia in September 2006 to lead sessions with groups of…

More than five million children suffer from brain injuries each year. While the majority of these children are treated and released without permanent consequences, many children return to the classroom with lasting effects. Symptoms of brain injury can be misconstrued as common behaviour or academic problems. Therefore, teachers need to recognize…

This study evaluates and compares special educational services for children with dyslexia in three different settings: special schools, reading units and mainstream resource provision. The emphasis in this paper is on the parental perspectives. Participants were the parents of dyslexic children, aged eight to thirteen, who had been accessing…

Chris Blake and Elizabeth Monahan explore the role that partnerships play in developing effective teachers working with children and young people who present emotional and behavioural difficulties. A range of innovations in the United States are highlighted and the key emphasis is placed upon a continuum of teacher development.

In July 2006, the House of Commons Education and Skills Committee reported on Special Educational Needs. The report expressed concern over the Government's policy on SEN, especially as it relates to inclusion and to the confusion this has created for special schools. In this article I shall attempt to tease out what I believe to be the…

This article outlines the views of the Australian Special Education Principals' Association (ASEPA) on inclusion and the impact this is having on Australian Government Schools from a school based perspective. ASEPA is a relatively young association and was formed in 1997 out of the need to put forward the case to support students with special…

We have explored the working patterns and perceptions of a group of teachers who provide home tuition for children who cannot attend school due to medical problems. These teachers reported high levels of experience in teaching, enthusiasm for their work, and clear managerial structures. Home tutors found it very rewarding to build relationships…

This paper reports on the process and outcomes of special school reorganization in one local authority with a particular emphasis upon the implications for those concerned with the education of children with profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD). The authors believe that reporting this experience provides pointers for others…

This article focuses on aspects of policy and provision for pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD) who attend special schools in England. The findings reported below are from a larger study, which aimed to answer the question: "Who Goes to SLD Schools in England?"

Intensive Interaction has become widely used when building up communication with children with profound learning difficulties. Often practitioners understand Intensive Interaction to be primarily about imitation and Mark Barber shows how this can be a "mis"understanding that limits the kinds of interactions that can be enjoyed by conversation…

This paper reports findings from a follow-up evaluation of a short inservice course designed to enable teachers to assess and teach pupils with PMLD more effectively by combining the use of custom built ICT hardware and software (the Declan materials) and cognitive developmental psychology. The Declan materials were introduced to teachers at a…

Dave Hewett PhD. is well known within the education and care fields for his invaluable work on communication with both children and adults who have severe and profound learning difficulties (with or without autism). However, because his work until recent times has tended to occur within more segregated services, he is only now becoming known to…

This article addresses the issue of supporting lifelong learning for individuals with profound and multiple learning difficulties. Lifelong learning is usually a more mainstream concept and is rarely applied to this marginalized group for whom learning "per se" is such a challenge. The paper debates whether the concept is a useful one, and what…

The continued low academic attainment of Black pupils is now a well-established, familiar feature of the annual statistics of educational attainment. Black pupils tend to consistently perform below their white counterparts and below the national average. Key debates, examining how to address the difference in attainment gap, have tended to focus…

We present a case study of working with a group of students as researchers and policy makers in their school. We argue that there is much to learn about the location of gender and class within processes of inclusion and exclusion, specifically how student voice can reveal their experiences in ways that adults may not be able to or wish to. We…