ABSTRACT
We recognised that baseline assessment was going to become a statutory requirement but we did not want a framework imposed upon us which might not be entirely appropriate to our students. We were also concerned about the consultation document, National Standards for Special Educational Needs (SEN) Specialist Teachers (Teacher Training Agency 1998), because one of the nine draft standards had amalgamated SLD and PMLD into the category Severe and Profound Learning Difficulties (SLD). When looking in detail at this category in both the Knowledge and Understanding and the Skills sections, we felt the skills of the teacher necessary to meet the needs of pupils with PMLD were not adequately covered. Other standards, particularly deaf/blindness, physical disabilities, speech language and communication difficulties and visual impairment detailed the skills necessary to meet the needs of pupils with PMLD more comprehensively. We were anxious that the category of PMLD would be lost and therefore the skill and expertise of the specialist teacher of pupils with PMLD would at the very least be marginalised, or at worst, go unrecognised.
