SEND training is at a crossroads

In 1997, I helped produce a book titled At the Crossroads. It concerned the future of teacher training and "in-service development" relating to special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). It appears that, almost two decades later, we are still agonising about how best to deal with the problem. In fact, we're now closer to being in a cul-de-sac than at an intersection.

Now, the government has pledged to include SEND in initial teacher training. All the ingredients for training providers to effectively equip student teachers to meet the needs of children with learning difficulties and disabilities are presently at our disposal - and they have been for years. There is a collective reservoir of knowledge about individual learning difficulties, about curriculum adaptation and about the most appropriate interventions to connect with this diverse set of learners. The know-how is definitely available.