Professional development to meet special educational needs

Abstract

March this year saw the publication of the first report for more than ten years to address key issues concerning the initial training, induction and continuing professional development of teachers with responsibilities for pupils with special educational needs. Entitled Professional Development to Meet Special Educational Needs the Report has been produced by a working party of the Special Educational Needs Training Consortium (SENTC) and funded by the Department for Education and Employment. Olga Miller, Chair, and Malcolm Garner, Secretary, of the Consortium, chart the development of SENTC, summarise the Report and, from its recommendations, identify future options for sustainable teacher training and development in relation to pupils with special educational needs.

Department for Education and Skills/Department of Health Good Practice Guidance on the education of children with autistic spectrum disorder

“…A Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) survey in 1995 found that almost 46% of teachers in schools for children with severe learning difficulties (SLDs) had no specialist training (Miller & Garner 1996). A range of accredited Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses and modules exist in ASD in the UK, as publicized in the Good Autism Practice Journal published by the British Institute of Learning Disabilities.…”