This article reports on an action-research improvement project undertaken in a primary school setting in London in collaboration with local authority advisors and a reference school. It describes the journey towards the goal of becoming a dyslexia-friendly school framed by the five key recommendations of the Education Endowment Fund recently…

The Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) landscape in England is bleak. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of pupils with SEND has increased. There is a shortage of places available in specialist SEND provision, and many pupils with SEND are being educated in alternative provision settings which arguably do not meet their needs.…

This article focuses on exploring initial teacher trainees' experiences and perspectives on the role of the teaching assistant (TA) in mainstream primary contexts. A backdrop of shrinking school budgets coupled with a 'mainstream for all' political agenda is contributing to growing uncertainty about the role of TAs in education. This article…

This article reports on a project based on the development of a model for outreach to support three federated mainstream primary schools in London, England to develop their understanding and practice with children with autism. The principal aim of the initiative was to ensure that knowledge and capacity within the participating schools increased;…

The number of teaching assistants (TAs) in schools in the UK has risen in recent years, but there remains a lack of clarity about the roles being undertaken by these support staff. This article reports findings from a study investigating how the TA role is understood both by the pupils being supported and by TAs themselves. Eleven students with…

The experiences of seven Australian senior secondary school students with vision impairment attending mainstream schools in Victoria were explored to gain an understanding of the support mechanisms operating to allow them access to an inclusive education. This qualitative study primarily used the in-depth interviews of students, augmented by brief…

This article illustrates, through the story of one mainstream primary school, the tensions between the inclusion agenda and the standards agenda. The school is situated in an area of social deprivation and nearly half of the school population have been identified as having special educational needs. The story presented in this article illustrates…

Education for people with a disability has changed over the years, moving from a philosophy of integration to inclusion. This philosophy requires a whole school approach spanning issues such as access, opportunities for learning, social experiences and developing a culture of acceptance. While this poses many challenges for individuals, schools…

This article focuses upon the relationship between social and emotional behavioural difficulties (SEBD) and learning. It argues that, while inclusion is desirable in principle, it can be highly problematic in practice. Further, it explores the contested nature of the concept of SEBD and the nature of support for pupils categorised as such. The…

Providing children with special educational needs with individual education plans (IEPs) was advocated in the 1994 code of practice for SEN, and retained in the 2000 code. Specifically as it relates to mainstream secondary schools, this has proved highly controversial: many SENCos report that the writing and implementing of IEPs is a bureaucratic…