Written by the founder of a pioneering establishment for disruptive boys who had been excluded from mainstream schools and in some cases turned to crime, this book discusses the methods and reasons for success of Red Hill School. It also discusses the causes of disruptive or obsessive behaviour and emphasizes how the therapeutic work of Red Hill has helped the pupils involved to adjust socially and psychologically so that they go on to find personal fulfilment and satisfaction.

At the time of its original publication this book was the first major survey of the nature of the difficulties that children with special educational needs experience in the classroom context of mainstream junior schools. The book is based on research involving interviews with heads and teachers, and on extensive observation of children in junior classrooms. The research is related to the report of the Warnock Committee and to problems of definition and assessment in the area of special education. The book describes the views which junior school teachers have of special educational needs and the numbers of children and types of difficulty they regard as falling into this category. It discusses the classroom behaviour and interactions of children with special needs, and some of the consequences of different teaching strategies. It also presents information on patterns of provision for special needs, assessment in the junior classroom and the teachers’ own views on integration.