Ted Cole was until recently a Director of the Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties Association (SEBDA), and is a Visiting Research Fellow at the School of Education, University of Bath. He is also co-editor of the journal 'Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties', published by Routledge. Barbara Knowles is Executive Director of SEBDA, and previously worked as Deputy Head and Acting Head of an inner-city secondary school in Manchester. Her career has been devoted to working with disadvantaged and often challenging children.

• List of Abbreviations. Foreword. 1. Introduction. Part 1. Understanding BESD. 2. The past, the present and patterns of educational provision. 3. Child development and BESD. 4.Further theory underpinning effective interventions. Part 2. Helpful Interventions .5. Whole-school influences. 6. Helpful group interventions in class and around school. 7. The individual child from an educational perspective. 8. Well-being, mental health and the individual child. 9. Support from beyond your work setting. 10. Working with Parents and Carers. 11. Review and Conclusion. Appendices: 1. Identifying Support from Local Services. 2. The SEBDA Abbreviated Policy on Inclusion and SEBO (BESD). Recommended Resources. References. Index.

This will be a welcome resource as part of professional development for practitioners in both mainstream and special schools working with children with BESD. It will provide a useful audit of practice; perhaps reminding practitioners of what they are doing well. It will serve as an introduction to other interventions that may be new to them. EPs should not hesitate in reading it themselves, or recommending to colleagues in schools, especially those with responsibility with BESD.