ABSTRACT
Local education authorities are required to produce Education Development Plans (EDP) that include their policy on inclusion and any planned action to promote it, as well as how they will raise standards in schools. There have been notable shifts in thinking during the development of national SEN specialist standards, largely as an outcome of a consultation process. While the standards were initially conceived as 'standards for specialist teachers', this has been seen as incompatible with a more inclusive approach to education provision. A number of case studies are set out in the document to illustrate how this auditing procedure might work. The case studies highlight the complexity of the process and the likelihood that it cannot easily be carried out by individual teachers without consultation with their 'line managers'. One of the key ways of promoting inclusion has been the use of learning support assistants (LSAs) as an important classroom resource, leading to a sharp increase in their numbers.
