As it has been several months since my previous summary, I’ll start with a reminder that the present government took over at a critical time, when the previous one was in the middle of piloting reforms to the SEND and alternative provision (AP) system. For some time, there was uncertainty about whether or not Labour would let the piloting run its course or prefer to develop its own approach.

Over time, it became clear that not only would the trialling continue, but an extra year would be added to the original two-year timeline. This came as a relief to the nine regions and their change programme partnerships (CPPs), as well as to the 32 lead and supporting local authorities (LAs), who had been busy piloting the reforms.

In a further sign that the government sees sorting out the SEND and AP system as a priority, at the end of last year the Department for Education (DfE) made three additional appointments:

• Dame Christine Lenehan became the DFE’s strategic adviser on SEND.
• Tom Rees was asked to chair an expert advisory group (EAG) for inclusion.
• Prof. Karen Guldberg agreed to run a neurodivergence task and finish group.

These names will crop up again as I try to give a flavour of what has been happening to move the SEND agenda forward.

November 2024

Moving chronologically through some of the significant events since Labour came to power, Bridget Phillipson gave a speech to the Confederation of School Trusts (CST) Conference last November, where she told the audience, “Now is the time for bold reform. And let me be clear: the direction of that reform is inclusive mainstream (provision)……. including through the use of SEN units and resourced provision.”

Since then, it has been clear that this will be Labour’s approach.

December 2024

Following the change of government, MP for Dulwich and West Norwood Helen Hayes was  elected chair of the Education Committee. This month, the committee launched its Solving the SEND Crisis inquiry. As a number of reports had detailed the extent of the crisis already, the aim of this inquiry was not to go over the well-known problems, but to find answers on how to achieve both short-term stability and long-term sustainability to improve experiences and outcomes for children and young people.

The inquiry spent until July 2025 taking oral and written evidence. Rob Williams, NAHT’s senior policy advisor, was one of the many notable names to appear before the committee. A further update to the inquiry appears under July 2025 in this summary.

February 2025

As Labour’s direction of travel became clear, the LAs piloting the SEND and AP reforms began to look at additional ways of enhancing mainstream practice. These included:

• adapting physical environments to better meet the needs of neurodiverse children
• trialling music therapy interventions
• targeting SEN support at key points of transition, from nursery to reception, and from year six to year seven
• recruiting staff with a specific focus on inclusion
• trying out Team Around the School models (an interesting variation on the Team Around the Child approach).

March 2025

Funding
The government’s High Needs Provision Capital Allocations guidance (March 2025) has a whole section on SEN units and resourced provision, with LAs encouraged to use the £740 million at its disposal to deliver adaptations to mainstream schools, expand the supply of resourced provisions or SEN units, and create additional places in special schools. 

Secretary of state’s speech
Bridget Phillipson’s speech at an ASCL conference mentioned children turning up at schools in nappies, children turning up at schools not able to speak, absences being stubbornly high and the SEND system creaking after years of neglect. She also spoke of another barrier being the failure of the system to support children who have SEND.

She went on to say, “And a classroom that caters to all is a strength. Children thinking in different ways is a gift. It’s time we recognised that.I’ve been told this is too hard, that it can’t be done. Of course it’s not easy, but it is possible.There are schools and trusts doing it already….”

Hopefully, the secretary of state for education will also recognise that schools need to be able to draw on outside specialist support if increasing numbers of children are to thrive in their local schools.

Bridget also mentioned the work of Christine Lenehan, who, she said, “is drawing on the wisdom of parents, professionals and leaders” and Tom Rees, who “is working with ImpactED, and will launch a survey on best practice tomorrow.” The survey Bridget referred to is the Inclusion in Practice project – see the July 2025 section of this summary for further details of this project.

Curriculum and Assessment Review (CAR) – interim report          
An early decision by the Labour government was to have a review of the national curriculum and in July 2024, Professor Becky Francis, chief executive of the Education Endowment Foundation, was appointed to convene and chair it. Having a review was widely welcomed, partly because it had been some time since the national curriculum had been reviewed, and partly due to a strong feeling that any changes to the way the SEND system works would not be successful while the curriculum and its assessment remain unaltered.

Although the interim report states that the “national assessments and qualifications are broadly working well,” it goes on to say that they aren’t working well for everyone, and that further analysis of assessment at key stages one to four and consideration of any necessary improvements will need be undertaken before the final report is published.

A statement I found odd is on page 18, where it says: “… young people with SEND fail to make sufficient progress in comparison to their non-SEND peers.” This reads as if pupils who have SEND are being treated as a homogenous group, rather than being made up of many very different individuals. In any case, how do you measure whether or not their progress is sufficient, unless the expectation is that they ought to reach similar standards to their peers?

The final report is due out in the Autumn.
 

May 2025

The future of education, health and care plans (EHCPs)                
This was a month when speculation about the future of EHCPs gathered momentum. When asked in a panel discussion at the Schools & Academies Show about the government’s plans, Christine Lenehan said consideration was being given as to whether or not EHCPs are the right vehicle for the future. She suggested that a significant proportion of pupils with EHCPs primarily require an appropriate education, rather than extensive health and care involvement as well. When asked if the number of EHCPs would be cut by restricting them to those going to special schools, her reply was that conversations were ongoing. Christine added that any changes would have a full consultation process and a long lead-in time before legislation.

The reaction to EHCPs possibly being under threat was enough to fuel a concern about children’s legal rights being removed. As it’s accepted that the current arrangements aren’t working and EHCPs are of variable quality, it could be worth at least exploring other ways of improving the system –  particularly if this includes how to make sure the majority of children who have SEND are able to access the support they need, as well as securing the provision needed for those who have the most complex needs. 

The extension of three pilot programmes: APST, ELSEC and PINS
In addition to an extra year being given to piloting the previous government’s reforms, another positive sign that Labour wants to gather as much information as possible before making any long-term decisions came with an additional year being given to these three programmes.

• Alternative Provision Specialist Taskforces (APST)
  These began as a government-funded pilot in November 2021, working in areas where it was felt they were most needed. Increasing the number of these teams is being encouraged. After an initial impact assessment this year, a final report is due to appear in 2026.   
• Early Language Support for Every Child (ELSEC).
  These started as part of the previous government’s reforms and has been endorsed by Labour. In a press release announcing the extension of the programme, Catherine McKinnell, whose role as minister for school standards includes SEND and AP, said “This type of approach is exactly what we want to see in a reformed SEND system that delivers the support children need at the earliest stage and restores parents’ trust in a system which has let them down for too long.”
• Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS).
  This programme includes supporting pupils before the nature of their difficulties has been assessed. Karen Guldberg, who is chairing the Neurodivergence Task and Finish Group, said: “I welcome the expansion of the Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) programme. It focuses on strengthening the knowledge, understanding and skills of those who support neurodiverse children and young people in mainstream schools. It is an excellent example of strong partnership work between education, health and parent carers to meet the needs of neurodiverse children and young people.”

All three of these programmes show what can be achieved by bringing together a number of professionals from different disciplines, the problem being that there aren’t enough of them to go round or enough money to employ them.  

JUNE 2025  

Funding for LAs             
This month, in a consultation on The Fair Funding Review, the joint opening statement by Angela Rayner, deputy prime minister and secretary of state for housing, communities and local government and Jim McMahon, minister of state for local government and English devolution, wrote:

“This government recognises the pressures local authorities are facing because of their Dedicated School Grant deficits. The Spending Review confirmed funding to reform the SEND system. We will commence a phased transition process which will include working with local authorities to manage their SEND system, including deficits, alongside an extension to the Dedicated Schools Grant Statutory Override until the end of 2027-28.”

The consultation ran from 20 June to 15 August 2025.
 

Change Programme Update
As I’ve mentioned in previous summaries, one of the  sources for keeping up to date with what is happening in terms of reforming the SEND system are the Reaching Excellence and Ambition for all Children (REACh) newsletters. The REACh consortium is the DfE’s delivery partner, working alongside local areas testing the reforms. The June newsletter explains that, having an extra year for testing the SEND reforms and knowing the current government’s future intentions, the Change Programme will look at “what it takes to rebalance the SEND and Alternative Provision system towards earlier identification and support to deliver better experiences for families, improved outcomes for children and young people, and lay the foundations for a more financially sustainable system.”

Sign up to the free REACh newsletters.

 

JULY 2025

Solving the SEND Crisis
On 1 July, Catherine McKinnell and Alison Ismail, DfE’s director of SEND, gave oral evidence on the final day of the Education Committee’s Solving the SEND Crisis inquiry. Possibly in an attempt to pour oil on troubled waters, Catherine said she wanted to be really clear from the outset that the government ‘won’t be removing any existing, effective support." She didn’t specify whether this included EHCPs. Catherine emphasised the government’s plans to use the effective practice that already exists to support changes to the SEND system, saying: “What we do want to do is identify where there is really good practice in the system.” She also stressed the importance of special schools being able to cater for those with the most complex needs.

When both she and Alison were questioned about whether or not there will be a working definition of what ‘inclusive mainstream’ means, Alison replied: “there are a number of components to that which will be detailed in the white paper.”
 

National Network of Parent Carer Forums’ meeting with Professor Karen Guldberg
When the National Network of Parent Carer Forums (NNPCF) had a meeting with the chair of the Neurodivergence task and finish group, Karen Guldberg told them the group had been meeting monthly between December 2024 and June 2025.

The group has been considering the following:

• How to improve classroom practice.
• Supporting co-occurring needs.
• The types of support that shouldn’t depend on a diagnosis.
• Best practice in commissioning support across education and health.
• How to deliver effective educational support locally, regionally and nationally.

Karen told members of the NNPCF that her group is due to publish its report shortly.


The Expert Advisory Group (EAG) for inclusion
Tom Rees said his group has focused on six key areas:

• Inclusive classroom practice and culture: ensuring high-quality teaching meets the needs of all learners.
• Partnerships with families: strengthening collaboration between schools and parents to support inclusion.
• Early identification of SEND: improving approaches to identifying and assessing needs in mainstream settings.
• Additional support in mainstream schools: expanding targeted and specialist provision to meet a wider range of needs.
• Workforce capability and expertise: building capacity within the education workforce to support inclusion.
• Enabling conditions and incentives: addressing systemic factors, including funding and accountability, that impact inclusion.  
• As explained earlier, Tom’s group has worked with ImpactEd, which supports a number of well-known educational organisations, in running a project entitled Inclusion in Practice. The project has gathered examples of effective inclusive practice in mainstream schools, with the aim of creating a central resource for schools to draw on. The project is supported by a number of engagement partners, including NAHT. A six-week submission period received an excellent response and some of you may be among those who replied.

The Inclusion in Practice - Emerging Insights report was published this summer, and features five emerging principles:

• Knowing children well, early and often
  The foundation of inclusive practice is balancing knowledge of individuals alongside knowledge of their barriers to learning. Schools are investing time in getting to know children early, particularly at points of transition, and being anticipatory as well as reactive in planning support that will help them succeed.

• High quality and evidence-informed teaching practice
  Inclusion starts with expert teaching. When this is embedded consistently and paired with early, targeted support for children, more learners stay in class and make progress.
• Coherent and expert targeted support
  Expert and evidence-informed targeted support is organised in clear and structured systems, so schools can ensure support is available when needed and responsibilities are well understood. Graduated models are enabling earlier, more coordinated responses across settings.
• Strengthening inclusion through relationships and partnerships
  Inclusive schools do not work in isolation. Strong relationships based on trust with families, local authorities and external services help create coherent and consistent support for children.
• Inclusion as a strategic and shared responsibility
  Leaders see inclusion as a core priority and principle across their settings, not a separate system. When responsibility is shared and guided by a clear ethos, schools align planning, development and accountability to drive consistent, inclusive practice.

Find out more about Inclusion in Practice.

I’ll end this SEND and AP summary by apologising for everything I’ve had to omit in order to build up a picture of what has been happening to the SEND and AP system as governments change. I send you all every good wish for the term. For those of you England, I wish you the best of luck as Ofsted changes its framework, the frameworks for ITT and ECF become one, and a schools white paper may or may not appear before Christmas and help to solve the SEND crisis.