Responding to a new education committe report on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), which calls for funding to make mainstream education genuinely inclusive, Paul Whiteman, general secretary for school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

“School leaders agree that the best way to support all pupils is to make special educational needs support an intrinsic part of the school system. There should be a focus on SEND right from the early years – early identification and intervention is critical.

“We agree that as part of that intrinsic whole-school approach, all staff should be trained in SEND support, with a fully qualified Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo) and professional development in SEND for all teachers.

“And there must be a collaborative multi-agency approach, with the onus not just on schools but on all health and child services to support children and young people with SEND. National standards for SEND would need to join together and hold to account all the services and avenues of provision needed to support children and young people with SEND, not just schools.

“School leaders agree with the ambition of inclusion, and with a more holistic approach to SEND support, but there must be a recognition that funding for SEND is currently insufficient and a re-thought system will need to be fully resourced in order to work.”