Although fewer children are being placed in special schools these days, the number with statements of special educational needs remains broadly constant at around 3 per cent of the school population. This means, of course, that more children who experience difficulties are now included in mainstream schools.

Publishers, particularly the prolific David Fulton, continue to respond to this state of affairs with a wide range of books and materials. Some are better than others, but one of the benefits of Fulton’s high-output policy is that new writers - many of them practising teachers - with very specific, new or unusual ideas get published. Their books meet real needs of teachers, in this case responding to the challenge of inclusion.

Planning and Organising the SENCO Year Edited by Dot Constable David Fulton pound;17

An invaluable resource for the busy special educational needs co-ordinator, covering the Code of Practice, writing a policy, IEPs (individual education plans), collaborative working, and the role of the SENCO as a manager. The most useful feature is a yearly planner (eg annual governors’ report - do it by 17 Sept) presented as a two page calendar organised by job, task and date. Every SENCO should have one.

Towards a Curriculum for All Edited by The Dorchester Curriculum Group David Fulton pound;17

The Dorchester Curriculum Group comprises teachers working with pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties. This book offers clearly set out ideas and objectives that go well beyond the national curriculum. The highlight is the “Constructing the whole curriculum” section, which takes in time allocation and timetables (often neglected), as well as target setting and IEPs. Exemplar schemes of work are sensibly located after the descriptive sections of this book and photographs of children bring it alive.

First Steps in Inclusion By Stephanie Lorenz David Fulton pound;17

This handbook for parents, teachers, governors and LEAs provides a structured exploration of what inclusion means for each of these groups. It starts with legal and governmental issues and continues with first steps for parents, with helpful case studies. There is specific coverage for SENCOs, class teachers, learning supporters and governors with many easy to follow bullet point checklists. Governors will find this especially helpful as they steer their way towards special needs planning for the whole school.

Special Educational Needs in the Primary School (Third edition) By Jean Gross Open University Press pound;18.99

Action planning, record keeping, using adult support and managing behaviour are described in accessible but not patronising terms. Teachers will find the coverage of English, maths and science supportive as well as constructive, with useful advice on the differentiation of these core curricular subjects. The book is well indexed, giving it the feel of a reliable reference guide. A good read for all, but especially valuable for students and newly qualified teachers.

Preparing to Include Special Children in Mainstream Schools Edited by Liz Flavell David Fulton pound;14

This book focuses on enabling mainstream and special schools to work together in preparing special school children to succeed in a mainstream environment. The author is an inclusion co-ordinator at a primary school, and the text is very much at the whole school level of explanation. There is an important section on “Perceptions of inclusion” with some far-sighted contributions from governors.

Curriculum Provision for the Gifted and Talented in the Primary School Edited by Deborah Eyre and Lynne McClure Curriculum Provision for the Gifted and Talented in the Secondary School Edited by Deborah Eyre and Hilary Lowe NACEFulton pound;16 each

A national strategy to help gifted and talented pupils has now been in place for three years. Deborah Eyre and Lynne McClure offer some good nuts-and-bolts help for teachers. The lively case studies of children highlight implementation of strategies. The book is ideal for reference as well as a good read and it is encouraging to see website addresses for further reading.

The companion volume for the older age range, Curriculum Provision for the Gifted and Talented in the Secondary School, offers something of relevance for all teachers. Chapters vary considerably in length and some seem hastily put together. In contrast to the primary book, this one may be more suited to stimulating general discussion, rather than for individual teachers to read and use in their planning for gifted pupils.

Special Educational Needs and the Internet Edited by Chris Abbott Taylor and Francis pound;16.99

This book offers stimulating coverage of the history of the internet for children with special needs. I was surprised that the section on communication did not specifically look at the needs of speech and language impaired children when accessing the net. The book’s strength lies in its sensitive discussion of the issues. A very welcome feature is the list of acronyms: many more educational publications could benefit from this.

Sally Newman teaches at the School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies at the University of Reading