The provision of education for children identified with special educational needs creates a range of questions related to governance, curriculum, detection and placement (Norwich, 2008). The response to these questions varies across and within countries.  Frequently the possibilities are framed as being upon a continuum.  Children and young people are positioned upon a continuum of need (eg: Martin, 2009), supported within a continuum of provision (eg: Lynch, 2007) and by a continuum of services (eg: DeLorenzo, 2008).  As a consequence national debates are framed around legislative approaches which will provide the institutional flexibility associated with a continuum of settings and services (Richardson and Powell, 2011).

This paper explores the conceptual underpinnings of the notion of a continuum, drawing upon a systematic search of the literature to review recurring ideas associated with the notion and to explicate both its uses and short-comings.

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