ABSTRACT
The role of LEAs has come increasingly under the spotlight since the turn of the century. My interest lies specifically in what is expected of them in terms of enabling schools to be as inclusive as possible in their work with students seen by teachers as ‘difficult to manage’ (D2M). One part of my professional role for the last decade and a half has been the management of ‘behaviour support’ to secondary schools in a local education authority (LEA) in England. Teachers who work within that service have become used to threats to their existence and annual fears as to whether their work will be funded. More recently the whole question of whether they can be employed and paid as teachers has been brought into focus by the current pay structure and performance management systems in place for ‘classroom teachers’. I do not intend to engage in the pay argument here, but I hope that in this chapter I present a case for the continued employment of skilled professionals to work in and with schools to develop their expertise in relating to D2M young people.
