ABSTRACT
The move towards school-based training needs also to be seen in the context of recent surveys of special needs coordinators (SENCos), who have reported a massive increase in workload since the adoption of the Code of Practice in consequence, a lack of availability to act as mentors to either students or to newly qualified teachers (NQTs). It ranges from the induction phase, for NQTs, to courses for more experienced teachers. It could even be argued that there is an element of self-interest on the part of teachers and teacher-educators involved in SEN work in demanding a higher profile for this aspect of teacher development. For many working in the field of SEN the rationale may appear to be self-evident, especially given the complexity of the present situation in teacher education. The potentially damaging effect of each of these developments has been noted most recently by the Special Educational Needs Training Consortium.
