Rethinking SEND provision: a comprehensive approach to inclusive education

Etio welcomes the Government’s sharpened attention on reforming the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) system. As an organisation, we support the Education Select Committee’s inquiry into the persisting challenges within SEND, recognising the imperative of providing high-quality education and support to all children and young people, that meets their individual needs.

The recent announcement of £1 billion in funding in the Autumn Budget is a promising step towards fortifying the SEND system. However, substantial hurdles continue to affect children, families, and educational institutions, highlighting the necessity for informed and evidence-based policy decisions moving forward.

In the following article, our team of SEND and Alternative Provision specialists seek to highlight the key challenges and potential solutions that can help create an effective system to adequately support children and young people with SEND.

Proactive Training and Development: A Cornerstone for SEND Support

A key area of concern is the preparedness of educators in addressing the varied needs of SEND pupils. Despite some level of SEND training during initial teacher education, many educators feel ill-equipped, particularly in handling conditions like autism, ADHD, or dyslexia. This gap underscores an urgent need for comprehensive, ongoing professional development, focusing not only on awareness but also on practical, day-to-day teaching strategies.

Our recommendations:

• All training and CPD for teachers needs to encapsulate SEND. Updating the Teachers’ Standards to weave SEND and Inclusion throughout would ensure that the current standard isn’t seen in isolation. This would help ensure that ‘every teacher is a teacher of SEND.’ Updating and publishing the SEND Code of Practice annually would ensure that schools leaders and training providers placed a higher value on the document, much as they do for KCSIE.
• SEND professional development in schools needs to be regular, ongoing, and supported by SEND specialists. Professional development sessions should be practical and hands-on, and clearly focused on SEND, rather than just academic outcomes or behaviour management. Teachers and teaching assistants must be able to access SEND specialists for ongoing mentoring, coaching and advice.
• Mainstream schools need more SEND expertise. A funded specialist NPQ focusing on SEND for teachers and teaching assistants would build SEND expertise in schools, as would funding for SALT (Speech and Language Therapy), SEMH (Social, Emotional and Mental Health) and ASD/ADHD specialists. This increased capacity would support learners and importantly also provide ongoing professional development and advice for all school staff.

Overhauling SEND Provision: Addressing Systemic Inefficiencies

Disparities in SEND provision across different regions create a 'postcode lottery' that affects the quality of support available. Families often face prolonged waits for assessments and interventions, outdated Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans, and poorly managed transitions between educational stages.

Our recommendations:

• Swift and proactive action – local authorities must act promptly to assess needs and provide appropriate support. SEND is not a temporary issue, treating it as such leads to crisis management rather than long-term solutions.
• Improved EHC plan oversight and communication – plans must be reviewed regularly, ensuring they reflect a pupil’s current needs. Families must be genuine partners in the process, not passive recipients. Regular, structured communication between families, mainstream schools, and local authorities is essential to ensure plans remain relevant and responsive.
• Dedicated transition teams and live feeds from families and schools - every local authority should have a transition officer/team to oversee support pupils’ transition to a new school, ensuring no pupil is left without a pathway – this is especially apposite for those aged 16 and 19, beyond both their mainstream school and/or their resource-based provision. Live digital feeds from families and schools could keep children’s records up to date, preventing last-minute transitions that leave pupils vulnerable.

Adapting Mainstream Curriculum to Foster SEND Inclusion

The mainstream curriculum often fails to accommodate the diverse needs of SEND pupils, frequently lacking necessary adjustments and side lining the integration of EHC plans into curriculum planning.

Our recommendations:

• Empower parents and carers through engagement – schools must proactively involve parents in curriculum planning and provide practical training to help them support their child’s learning. Workshops, accessible digital resources, and scheduled meetings should be standard practice.
• Mandatory inclusive training for staff – every teacher must receive training on suitable adjustments to lesson tasks, EHC plan integration, and trauma-informed approaches to ensure SEND is a permanent fixture in classroom practice, not an afterthought. Accountability measures should be in place to track teacher engagement with SEND pupils.
• Timely and structured curriculum adaptations – schools must ensure that access arrangements, personalised pathways, and assistive technology are embedded in everyday teaching. These adaptations must be monitored and evaluated to ensure their consistent implementation and effectiveness.
• A culture shift for SEND – provision should not be a postcode lottery. Families of SEND pupils need clear communication, timely action, and recognition that their child’s needs are permanent, not temporary. Local authorities must prioritise progress managers who ensure accountability, while schools must embed inclusive practices as standard, not as an optional extra.
• Prioritise SEND. Having no money should not be an excuse; smart leadership, early action, and collaboration with families will drive real change. Schools and local authorities must see SEND provision as a core responsibility, not a secondary consideration. Every child’s educational journey must be planned with clarity, communication, and consistency. The lingering impact of three national lockdowns in the pandemic on pupils’ with SEND access to learning should not be underestimated.

While the recent governmental focus and funding allocation for SEND are encouraging, a holistic overhaul of the existing framework is essential. By addressing training needs, systemic inefficiencies, and curriculum limitations, we can foster an educational environment that truly accommodates the needs of all learners, ensuring no child is left behind.

Article contributors

• Tyrone West: Regional Director for the DfE Attendance Mentoring Pilot Expansion, with over a decade as a headteacher in mainstream, SEND, and alternative provision.
• Dr Antony Edkins: Regional Leader for the Advanced Maths Support Programme, with over 35 years in education, including founding a charity supporting families of SEND and disadvantaged children.
• Stephen Wilkinson: Regional Lead for the Advanced Mathematics Support Programme, with experience as a head of Initial Teacher Education, senior teacher, and SENCO.
• Dr Gordon Carver: UK Managing Director of Etio, with 17 years in the education sector, including policy reform at a central government level and as a former CEO of a five-school group in London.