ABSTRACT This paper explores the impact of a drama-based intervention on the social inclusion of middle school learners including some with ADHD in Algeria. The intervention included drama-based activities and was delivered over a period of six weeks (24 sessions). One second-year middle school classroom (n = 29), including students with ADHD (n = 3), was recruited for the study. A mixed-methods, explanatory sequential design was adopted: Social Inclusion Survey data were collected before and after the intervention; and qualitative data were collected using semi-structured interviews and focus groups two weeks after the intervention. The findings suggest an increase in the acceptance levels (and a decrease in the rejection levels) of students with ADHD in line with the group as a whole. Furthermore, the findings suggest a positive drama influence on the students’ social interactions, friendships, and sense of belonging. The findings highlight the need for schools to promote the social inclusion of all the students through embracing creative teaching strategies and recognising the importance of social development in inclusive settings.

ABSTRACT Physical restraint is a restrictive practice used in schools, but there are no up-to-date statistics concerning the frequency of its usage in England and there are concerns as to whether it is being used appropriately and effectively. Pupils with special educational needs are more likely to experience physical restraint in school, but opportunities for them to share their views through research are limited. Through semi-structured interviews, four primary-aged pupils from a specialist social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) educational setting shared their experiences of physical restraint, its impact on their relationships with staff members, and alternative strategies. Overall, participants had negative experiences of physical restraint, highlighting that it should be used for safety, but not for minor incidents. All participants identified useful alternative strategies that helped them to feel calmer. The ability to separate negative emotions associated with physical restraint and supporting staff members varied between participants. The findings are discussed in relation to implications for educational psychology practice and future research.

ABSTRACT Schools in England are required to have an anti-bullying policy. A revised 42-item scoring scheme was used to report a content analysis of 200 anti-bullying policies. On average, school policies had 61% of items. Chi-square comparisons found an increase in policy coverage from 2008 to 2022, notably for mentioning cyber bullying and many types of bias-based bullying; but comparisons are limited by different sampling procedures. Despite good coverage in some areas, fewer than 25% of policies mentioned responsibilities of other school staff, suggested how to help the pupil(s) doing the bullying to change their behaviour, gave advice to parents about bullying, or discussed specific powers to deal with cyberbullying and out-of school bullying. For 131 schools, correlations of self-report scores on bullying victimisation and perpetration with the overall policy score were negative but very small. Ways to improve school policy coverage, and the impact they may have, are discussed.

ABSTRACT Emergent literacy (EL) interventions are effective at fostering foundational skills for reading and writing. During the COVID-19 pandemic schools faced several challenges to maintain these interventions, namely changing face-to-face to remote modalities. In this study, the effects of a multi-tier emergent literacy intervention are examined, delivered both in face-to-face and remote modalities, during the second COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. The intervention was delivered to 102 preschool Portuguese children (aged 5–6 years) according to the Multi-Tier Systems of Support (MTSS) framework and evaluated using a pre and post-test design and a single group. The results showed significant gains after the intervention in all emergent literacy skills evaluated: phonological awareness, vocabulary, print concepts, alphabet knowledge, and emergent writing. These findings highlight the relevance of systematic interventions that implement universal screenings, progress monitoring and decision-making processes based on children’s performance, and the potentialities of using mixed modalities (face-to-face and remote) to deliver such interventions in uncertain times.

ABSTRACT Kinship care is care provided by members of a child’s extended family or friend network when they can no longer live with their parents. Kinship care is the most prevalent form of out-of-home care, both internationally and in the UK. Little is known about kinship care from the perspectives of children and specifically, the risk and protective factors which may be at play. To explore this gap, this systematic literature review appraised and synthesised qualitative research that gives voice to children’s experiences of kinship care. Twenty eligible studies were assessed for quality and relevance. A thematic synthesis of the studies’ findings was undertaken, and themes suggesting risk and protective factors for children in kinship care were generated. The theorised risk and protective factors for children in kinship care are presented. Implications of the findings for educational psychology (EP) practice are discussed and the need for further research identified.

ABSTRACT In 2003, the Department for Education in England commissioned research which supported the policy drive to reduce the reliance on statements for special educational needs (SEN). Twenty years on and the government’s emphasis has now switched from reducing workload to creating financially sustainable systems. There continues to be wide variations in local authority (LA) statutory assessment practice, with considerable differences in the proportion of pupils with education, health and care plans (EHCPs), even when benchmarked across demographically comparable authorities. LAs with low EHCPs have smaller high needs block (HNB) budgets but typical rates of special needs and disability (SEND) Tribunal appeals. A comparison is also made of the statutory assessment process within the four nations of the UK. The discussion considers the implications of the findings for sustainable high needs systems and for appropriately managing the demand for EHCPs. The current 25-year trendline is projecting towards 10% EHCPs by 2042, a remarkable increase from 2.5% in 2017.