First published in 2000. This book looks at 'inclusive' education in the context of policy and practice in a number of different countries, particularly in relation to children and young people of school age. At the heart of the idea of inclusive education lie serious issues concerning 'human rights', 'equal opportunities' and 'social justice'. The papers in this book will, hopefully, contribute to stimulating further debate and dialogue over both the conceptualisation and understanding of a cross-cultural approach to inclusion and exclusion.

First published in 2005. The goal of Education For All, set by the United Nations at the 1990 Jomtien (Thailand) Conference and adopted by heads of state at the World Summit for Children in the same year, confronts all of us with the fundamental challenge of including children with disabilities in the education system of all nations. The aim of this book is to record, analyse and celebrate positive signs of growth and development in the field of special needs education but with particular reference to children with significant disabilities. The special education theme was selected for the 1993 edition of The World Yearbook of Education in synchrony with the ending of the UN Decade of Disabled Persons, 1983 to 1992.

This book, first published in 1994, explores the impact which changes in thinking and policy at national and local level have had upon the educational experiences of children and young people with special needs in England, Scotland and Wales. Two major factors are discussed. Firstly, there is the thinking of the late 1970s which emerges in documents such as the Warnock report and the legislation which followed it. Secondly, the authors examine the educational policy and legislation of the 1980s and early 1990s which aimed to encourage the operation of market forces. Through the various articles in this collection, the contributors discuss both the common themes and the tensions created by these changes, and assess the effect these have had on special needs education in practice.

First published in 1992. At one level, this book is about the care and education of children with very special needs. The needs result from emotional damage which impinges on their lives both at school and at home. At another level, it is about the development of a holistic approach to education – applicable to all children generally. The first part of the book describes the Raddery experience – a school set up in 1979 based on a holistic and therapeutic community approach to children with special needs. The second part of the book examines the implications of the Raddery experience for educational and child-care policy and practice at a time when there has been growing emphasis on integrating children with special needs into mainstream schools. Are the needs of the children at Raddery very different from others who have been successfully retained in normal classes? If Raddery, and schools like it, have a particular contribution, what is their secret? Can it be shared with ordinary schools?

For all the work on disability in previous years, there had been surprisingly little done on a subject of central importance – the social and psychological needs of teenagers with disabilities. Originally published in 1982, the purpose of this timely book was both to review the literature and to report an extensive study of the nature of the psychological problems, the quality of social life and the adequacy of the services available to a substantial group of teenagers with disabilities in the last years at school, with a follow-up study of half their number a year later. The authors show that many of these teenagers, including those with a mild disability, are often unhappy, worried and isolated from their peers. While the majority of the teenagers with disabilities, whether in ordinary or special schools, made friends at school, these friendships were rarely sustained outside. After leaving school the degree of social isolation is as great, and often worse. Among these teenagers the incidence of psychological problems was three to four times higher than for a control group, the most common being worry, depression, misery, fearfulness and lack of self-confidence and self-esteem. For the most part, the teenagers with disabilities were likely to be immature and ill-prepared to cope with adult life. These findings underline the need for a counselling service while the teenagers are still at school, and supporting services when they have left. Like other teenagers, those in this study were unprepared for the possibility of not having a job, and had not thought how to organize their lives if a job was not available or feasible. The authors draw attention to the large proportion of people with disabilities without occupation after leaving school, and the high dissatisfaction with day centres. Perhaps their most important finding is the need to rationalize the piecemeal and overlapping provision of help for school-leavers with disabilities. In the meantime, their book provides a wealth of information of direct use to those concerned with teenagers with disabilities and their families, whether in school provision, careers advice, work placement and alternatives to work, social services, counselling, medical services and further education. This book is a re-issue originally published in 1982. The language used is a reflection of its era and no offence is meant by the Publishers to any reader by this re-publication.

This title was first published in 2003.Funding for pupils with special educational needs has created resource management difficulties for schools and budgetary control problems for LEAs. Special educational needs is a frequent area of LEA overspending. These issues are particularly important as the development of inclusion and raising attainment for all pupils are key Government priorities. Many LEAs are now considering revisions of their funding formulae for additional and special educational needs during Best Value Reviews and Fair Funding consultations. This stimulating and accessible book examines the policy context for formula funding and the design and accountability issues for the construction of a revised formula. One of the central themes is the idea that a funding formula should be viewed as a key instrument of policy to assist in delivering specific inclusive policy objectives to meet the additional and special educational needs of pupils.