Responding to the government's announcement of a £200m investment in SEND training for education staff over this Parliament, Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

“We welcome investment in SEND training to help ensure that education staff are equipped to meet a wide range of needs among pupils.

“Given the increasing complexity of need schools are seeing, it is only right that teachers and support staff are given high-quality training in this area. The right training is often lacking at the moment, and it is vital this situation improves to help schools, including mainstream settings which support most children with additional needs, in their efforts to provide an inclusive learning environment.

“However, training alone will not be enough – it must be part of a comprehensive package of reform and investment. Both mainstream and special schools need better access to specialist staff and sufficient funding. Pupils with additional needs often require additional adult support and schools must have enough resources to deliver this.

“Investment under the previous government failed to keep up with increased demand, leaving families at the mercy of a messy local authority postcode lottery - made worse by shortages of specialists like educational psychologists and speech and language therapists in some areas. It is vital that the government rebuilds the supports services that have been decimated under previous administrations.

“This means many pupils are not receiving the level of support they desperately need, and it is crucial all these things are addressed by the government’s long awaited SEND reforms.”