WIREDGOV

Pupils with the most acute special educational needs (SEN) spend over a quarter of their week away from their class, teacher and peers, new research from the Institute of Education (IOE), London, shows. This "high degree of separation" means that both their education and their social development suffer, the study concludes.

Rob Webster and Professor Peter Blatchford say this is because teaching assistants (TAs), rather than teachers, take on much of the responsibility for devising alternative work programmes and teaching pupils with "statements of special needs" – often on a one-to-one basis. Some 3% of children have a statement, a legal document that sets out a child's SEN and the provision they should receive to meet their needs.

The findings from the Making a Statement (MaSt) project are timely, as they come as the Government publishes its draft Children and Families Bill. The Bill includes a proposal to replace SEN statements with wider Education and Health Care Plans (EHCPs).

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