Commenting on the Ofsted publication Special Educational Needs and Disability Review, Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers' union, said;

"Teachers do a great job in often very difficult circumstances to meet the needs of all their pupils, and for Ofsted to suggest otherwise is both insulting and wrong.

"It is of course important for parents to have every confidence in the SEN provision their children receive and to know that their child is being taught by fully qualified teachers.

"It is also vitally important for teachers to feel that they have received the sufficient and training and support they need in the classroom. All too often schools are left without the necessary back up and support that is required.

"Teachers must also have the freedom to respond adequately to the needs of children and young people at whatever level they are learning. Currently the National Curriculum can act as a barrier against such freedoms."