It is believed that 17.2 per cent of UK pupils have a special need but less than three per cent of them have been thoroughly assessed (222,600 students) to see what extra support they might need. This could include special lessons or more time to complete exams.
Pupils with SEN - including conditions such as dyslexia, autism and ADHD - are more than nine times as likely to be permanently excluded as the rest of the school population. They are also more than three times as likely to be persistently absent from school.
The National Autistic Society (NAS) welcomed Sir Alan Steer's emphasis on the need for early identification of special educational needs. Mark Lever, Chief Executive of the NAS, said: "Parents tell us that teachers often put their child's behaviour down to naughtiness or poor parenting rather than recognising that it arises as a result of disability - shockingly, we hear this even when the child does have a diagnosis.
"When a child does not get the right support it can have a significant negative impact on their behaviour and mental health. Even when their needs are recognised, many parents have told us that it took over a year for their child to actually start receiving the support they needed. This is simply unacceptable.
"Further to this, many children with autism are excluded - often more than once - because schools say they can't cope with their behaviour, and so they miss out on valuable time in school as a result. Autism is much more common than many people think, affecting around one in 100 children, so all teachers should expect to teach a child with this complex disability. Therefore it is vital they receive the right training and resources to enable them to provide appropriate support at the earliest opportunity. When the right help is in place at the right time, children with autism can and do flourish in school."
The schools secretary, Ed Balls, said: "We know there is some excellent work going on in our schools to support children with SEN, but teachers have told me that they need help in being able to identify children with SEN earlier and quicker."
He told the Times newspaper that too often schools fail over a period of time - often years - to identify pupil's special needs and recognise the serious and long-term effect this can have on their motivation, engagement, and behaviour.
"If a child is getting into fights or behaving badly, often there's an underlying problem that they need help with. They could be reacting because they feel like they are second class or it could be that they have communication problems and they are unable to say what they want," he said.
But why are schools failing children with special needs? A survey canvassed by the National Union of Teachers (NUT) of its members showed that 44% of teachers do not feel confident teaching children with autism (NUT 2006 survey). Teaching unions have long argued that teachers need more training in identifying children with a wide range of special needs and supporting. At present many get little more than half a day's training.
Sir Alan Steer suggests that heads could work with other schools in their area to share expertise and resources on special needs. He also believes that support given early to children with special needs should be reviewed to see if it is working.
"It is my view that there are countless examples of exemplary work in our schools. I applaud the staff and pupils concerned. It is also my view that there is also too great a degree of variation of performance and that were we able to reduce this, the effect on children, teachers and schools would be profound," he said.
Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), welcomed the report but is concerned that schools needed more resources to help them support SEN pupils. "Too often the personalised support needed to enable these pupils succeed is not available, to the detriment of these pupils and their classmates whose learning is disrupted," she said.
The Government has promised £52m to help children with communication problems. This followed an independent review by Conservative MP John Bercow, who found that children with speech and language problems are often left behind. Ed
Balls has also asked Brian Lamb, chair of the Special Educational Consortium, to look into claims of many parents of children with special needs who feel they have to "fight" or "battle" the system to secure high quality provision for their children.
Parents often complain that they find it difficult to get a statement of special educational needs for their child, which then entitles them to support. Even where a statement is obtained, extra help is often not forthcoming.
Whether this enquiry will lead to more money for valuable teacher training remains to be seen. Until teachers feel confident to recognise the signs of special needs such as autism, these children will be unfairly punished for their condition and the children around them will continue to have their lessons disrupted. Parents will feel that they are being blamed for their child's bad behaviour at school and the damaging cycle will continue.
Understanding autism in the classroom
Normal teaching methods don't always work on an autistic mind. Words do not register as strongly with an autistic child as images. Therefore, specialised teaching for autism often involves the use of lots of pictures. It is even more effective to physically show the item or place being described.
Autistic children can have strong natural skills in drawing and music. It is a good idea to focus on these strengths rather than dwelling on the perceived weaknesses. Music and art can often be used to help teach other subjects - such as Georgraphy or History.
A mother's view
Denise Curtis (40) mother of Ted (7)
When we suspected our son had Asperger's Syndrome (a mild form of autism) we didn't go the standard way of getting a statement of his condition through the school. We decided to go privately and the school respected that. They acted on my requests but I had to be quite firm and diplomatic in my approach. I met with the head and I outlined what I hoped for. She was open to our approach and let me take Ted out for one day a week to have special lessons at home.
I would say that the whole process had to be led by us. They never said, "We would like to help you." The concerns were not really about Ted's bad behaviour - the problem tended to be his reaction to other children's behaviour. He was quite manageable and his Asperger's is extremely mild. Perhaps the school was not that concerned because he was doing well academically.
