The Code in Practice: The Impact on Schools and LEAs - Softcover

Derrington, Chris; Etc.; Lee, Barbara; Evans, Cathryn

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0700514422 ISBN 13: 9780700514427

Publisher: National Foundation for Educational Research, 1996

Synopsis

Since its publication in 1994, the Code of Practice on the Identification and Assessment of Special Educational Needs has met with mixed reactions. Although welcomed in principle, its emphasis on procedures and its 'cost-neutral' status raised considerable doubt about the feasibility of its implementation. An NFER project set out to explore how LEAs and schools have interpreted and implemented the requirements of the Code two years after its introduction. This report describes some of the challenges and evaluates the effectiveness of responses made. The project found that: individual education plans were more established in primary schools than in secondary schools; the SENCO role was being redefined to make it more manageable; LEAs had provided training on the Code but teachers wanted more guidance on classroom strategies; LEAs were moving towards the linking of funding with the stages of the Code; schools' special needs policies were lacking in detail about arrangements for monitoring and evaluation; the Code of Practice had provided the impetus for closer, collaborative working between LEAs and other agencies. The findings support the view that the fundamental principles of the Code have been widely accepted and incorporated into LEA and school policies, but that manageable systems for implementing the associated procedures have still to be developed. The report concludes by offering a number of suggestions that LEAs and schools may wish to draw upon in order to make future progress in this area.

About this title

Review

This publication provides the most recent account available on the state of play of the implementation of the Code. Also unlike the other research conducted to date, it focuses both on what appears to be typical practice in the majority of schools as well as on what is considered to be particularly effective practice in a few selected schools and therefor presents a more in-depth analysis than that provided by previous research. British Journal of Special Education. -- British Journal of Special Education.

Edition details

• Publisher: National Foundation for Educational Research
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0700514422
• ISBN 13: 9780700514427
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 122