This article, by Brahm Norwich of the Graduate School of Education, University of Exeter, sets the recent legislative changes in the special education system in England, the Children and Families Act (2014), in the context of wider changes in the school system, such as changes in curriculum-assessment, the governance of schools and inspection…

In this invited article, Chris Marshall, teacher, educational psychologist, university lecturer, and a former book reviews editor for "BJSE" who has been a leading figure in Her Majesty's Inspectorate, examines the inspection of schools over a period reflecting the 35 years during which "BJSE" has been published. Chris Marshall…

In this article, Anne-Marie Wright, lecturer at the University of Chester, considers the current situation for students with severe learning difficulties in general colleges of further education. She presents findings from a critical review of the literature and a small-scale preliminary investigation which set out to explore the idea that,…

England's Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) was established as a government department independent of the Department for Education to inspect schools and improve standards of achievement. This article describes the training for the team members who will inspect special schools and recent findings from inspections of special schools. (JDD)

The Office for Standards in Education in Great Britain conducts inspections of provisions for students with special educational needs in primary and secondary regular and special schools. Implementation of these inspections requires development of well-trained inspectors with special education expertise and recognition of local education authority…