It is an educational cliché to say that all children are ‘special’: they all have individual needs, and teachers spend their time finding and developing strategies to deal with these on a daily basis. But, the main issue with Special Educational Needs (SEN) is that the term covers the entire spectrum, ranging from the physically disabled, through moderate learning difficulties, autism, dyslexia and other language difficulties, dyspraxia, ADD, ADHD, to children with ‘emotional difficulties’. So how do busy classroom teachers deal with the demands of resourcing such individual and farranging needs? The Government’s education policy is focused on helping all children release their potential. They are committed to developing an education service that provides equality of opportunity and high achievement for all children. The British Educational Suppliers Association’s (BESA) knows that this is only possible using the right educational resources and can show that there are, in fact, many simple routes to ensure that ‘no child is left behind’.

In 2005 around 18% of all pupils in school in England (1.5 million children) were categorised as having some sort of special educational need. Around 3% of all children (250,000) had a statement of SEN and around 1% of all children (90,000) were in special schools. This represents approximately one third of children with statements. A recent government committee1 recognised that while many children are receiving the education they need in an appropriate setting, it is equally important to highlight the difficulties faced by a large number of parents for whom the system is failing.

The report looked at major issues affecting SEN at the moment and considered that confused messages are being given. The Government's policy of inclusion has come under criticism recently for its confused and changing definition which is reported to be causing the closure of special schools and ensuring that some children are put into mainstream schools when it is not in their best interests to be there. Lord Adonis, the Minister with responsibility for SEN, described the Government as being ‘content’ if the current ‘roughly static position in respect of special schools’ continues. The Government ‘do not have a view about a set proportion of pupils who should be in special schools’. However, in the 2004 SEN Strategy Removing Barriers to Achievement, guidance to local authorities says that ‘the proportion of children educated in special schools should fall over time’ and there should be a ‘reduced reliance on statements’. If, as Lord Adonis claims, the Government ‘have no policy whatever … of encouraging local authorities to close special schools’ then why do some local authorities think that they have to close special schools?

What is needed is for the Government to clarify its position on SEN. We need some clarity about direction on SEN policy and the inclusion agenda. Even Ofsted identifies a ‘considerable inequality of provision’. The Committee considered that ‘the SEN system is demonstrably no longer fit for purpose and there is a need for the Government to develop a new system that puts the needs of the child at the centre of provision’. It supported the local organisation of provision but felt that ‘the Government should provide a much clearer National Strategy linked to minimum standards and a statutory requirement for local authorities to provide a broad continuum of flexible provision, including high quality special schools’. Most importantly, ‘the Government needs to radically increase investment in training its workforce so that all staff are fully equipped and resourced to improve outcomes for children with SEN and disabilities’.

And what is the cost of failing children with SEN? To take just one example, The Dyslexia Institute believe the cost of failing to diagnose and appropriately teach children with dyslexia leads to significant long-term economic and social costs: ‘Last year we did a very specific piece of research in the Prison Service which showed that 52% of prisoners have literacy difficulties and 20% have hidden difficulties. We had £186 million in the Prison Service, £80 million in Probation, £50 million in school exclusions, so just in those three categories alone £300 million a year.’

It is BESA’s belief that education resources available in the UK are firmly based on educational outcomes and are designed to make a real difference in classrooms. And the most important factor is that they are designed to be mediated through teaching professionals who choose the resources and the approach they want, in order to increase the teaching and learning opportunities.

So what can BESA members do to assist busy SEN professionals to deal with this confusing situation? The SEN Code of Practice became effective from January 2002. This ‘provides practical advice to LEAs, maintained schools, early education settings and others on carrying out their statutory duties to identify, assess and make provision for children’s educational needs.’ It should help schools and LEAs obtain ‘best value’ from the resources and expertise available to them by providing a consistency of approach to meeting children’s SEN needs. BESA members can help teachers to find the right suppliers for their SEN needs. The focus is on preventative work to ensure that children’s special educational needs are identified as quickly as possible and that early action is taken to meet those needs. However, some would argue that the lack of specialist SEN support staff has been exacerbated in many areas by cuts to central LEA funding because of a new formula that has recently been introduced. The new funding formulas have caused severe reductions to many LEAs - and therefore individual schools’ - budgets. These budget cuts have forced schools to reduce staffing at a time when the pressures caused by the inclusion of children with SEN actually means schools need to increase adult / child ratios. In these cases it is even more important to ensure that they are buying just the right resources and that these are value for money.

So although the situation may seem confusing and desperate at times, there are easy routes to take. ‘Education’ is the business of BESA members, so whether it’s through the Internet, by keeping the BESA Directory in staffrooms or by coming to see them at the biggest shows in the UK, teachers can be sure that their resources and equipment will be what they need, of a high quality and designed to ensure that they meet their challenging objectives.

1 Education and Skills Select Committee, Third Report, Special Educational Needs, 2006

For BESA’s free UK Education and Training Directory call 0207 537 4997. To find SEN suppliers and resources look online at www.besa.org.uk