News

The growing number of  pupils with challenging behaviour is a major concern for many schools, according to Ofsted.

An inspection of policies and support services for children with special educational needs found that schools and education authorities were finding hard to provide for pupils with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties.

Several authorities had  behavioural support services, but the increasing number of pupils with challenging behaviour was still the greatest cause of concern for schools and local education authorities.

Ofsted found that all local education authorities were committed to a policy of inclusion for children with special educational needs and their support services were trying to support mainstream schools in providing for as wide a range as possible of pupils.

But there was concern among schools that as they became more inclusive their overall academic performance would drop. Some schools with a reputation for inclusive practice were “nearing the limits of their capacity to provide well for them and for other pupils,” says Ofsted, leading to tensions when it was felt that neighbouring schools were not trying hard enough to meet special needs.

www.ofsted.gov.uk