Describes recommendations of the Warnock Committee regarding the field of special education, and reports several important concepts of the 1981 Education Act. Additionally elaborates on the implications the Act has for parents whose children have special needs. Cautionary notes regarding consequences for practice are pointed out. (AS)

A case study of a local education agency (LEA) in Barnsley, England reveals how one LEA implemented the 1981 Education Act. A description of LEA characteristics is followed by a discussion of assessment procedures (e.g., annual screening and a Teacher Information Package) and a within-child interpretation of special needs. (JW)

This pamphlet chronicles the study of Kirsty Arrondelle, an 11-year-old girl with Down's Syndrome, focusing on her attendance at a local infants school in Berkshire (England), her later acceptance at a primary school in Hertfordshire, and her preparation for transfer to secondary school. It details the struggle of Kirsty's parents to have her…