Findings from NGA’s annual governance survey reveal an education system under growing strain. Supporting pupils with SEND has seen the steepest rise as the top challenge for governing boards across England (cited by 63% of respondents) and is accompanied by sharp increases in SEND-related pressures such as difficulties accessing funding and securing education, health and … Continue reading NGA publishes policy paper on SEND
Tag: SEND
Access to early SEND support through Best Start Family Hubs
Best Start Family Hubs are part of the governmenta's new Child Poverty Strategy (see this post for more on that). Best Start Family Hubs are to act as a one-stop-shop for parents to access SEND professional and services to support speech and language development. As part of the government’s pledge to roll out Best Start … Continue reading Access to early SEND support through Best Start Family Hubs
Budget 2025: Everything schools need to know
Schools Week have provided a useful summary of what's in the Chancellor's autumn budget for education. Here is the link.
Additional inequalities holding more girls back from sport
New data from the Youth Sport Trust’s annual Girls Active Survey has found that girls with multiple characteristics of inequality are being left behind in PE and school sport. The survey reveals that girls with two or more characteristics of inequality, such as being from a low-income family, a non-majority ethnicity, or having Special Educational … Continue reading Additional inequalities holding more girls back from sport
Double Disadvantage?
"Double Disadvantage?" is the title of a new report from the Sutton Trust focussing on support for children with SEND. It concludes that The number of children with SEND is growing. Since 2014, the rate of growth has been faster for children not eligible for free school meals (FSM) in many categories of SEND, with … Continue reading Double Disadvantage?
SEND reform
The Education Select Committee has published its long-awaited report on SEND reform on 18 September 2025. You can download it from the UK Parliament website here. Speech and Language UK gave the report an 8 out of 10 mark and identify two areas where it falls short - you can read about them on their … Continue reading SEND reform
Special needs overdiagnosed, says Derbyshire council leader
Leader of Derbyshire County Council, Alan Graves, stated in an interview with BBC Derby's Georgia Roberts that: I personally think there are too many people in the [SEND] system, I think there are reasons for that and it's to do with schools getting extra money for dealing with that. Most people are just about on … Continue reading Special needs overdiagnosed, says Derbyshire council leader
The Education Policy Institute (EPI) Annual Report
The Education Policy Institute (EPI) Annual Report looks at the state of education in England, with a focus on the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers. EPI’s 2025 Annual Report considers the attainment of vulnerable groups of students at the ages of 5, 11, 16 and by 18. The report analyses attainment gaps based … Continue reading The Education Policy Institute (EPI) Annual Report
Thousands of children with SEND to benefit from assistive tech
With SEND so much in the news lately, it's no suprise that the DfE is providing funding for new resources in education, inlcuding a pilot with up to £1.7m available to help children with SEND achieve and thrive at their local school. ‘Lending libraries’ will be set up in up to 32 local authorities and … Continue reading Thousands of children with SEND to benefit from assistive tech
Improving SEND services for children, young people and families across Derbyshire
The latest (June) update from Derbyshire on their actions to improve SEND is on their Local Offer website, here.
One in four free school meal eligible children in special schools are not taking up their entitlement
A report from Adapt-Ed, led by researchers at the University of Hertfordshire in partnership with University of Essex and the charity School Food Matters has found that one in four free school meal eligible children in special schools are not taking up their entitlement. The researchers highlighted several areas where school meals could be made … Continue reading One in four free school meal eligible children in special schools are not taking up their entitlement
School and college voice: December 2024
The School and college voice report from DfE, based on a survey between 10 December and 23 December 2024, has been published (29 May). A wide range of issues were surveyed, and you can read the full report on the DfE website, here. Some of the findings are: The top two most helpful actions for … Continue reading School and college voice: December 2024
Forthcoming governor training from Derbsyhire Services for Schools
Here are the upcoming training opportunities from Derbsyhire Services for Schools (S4S) - these are all courses that are either specifically aimed at governors, or where governors might find them useful. The Safer Recruitment courses are all in-person events and offered at different venues. AI Compliance (2 Jun 2025 15:30 - 17:00, online) School Complaints … Continue reading Forthcoming governor training from Derbsyhire Services for Schools
Improved PE and sport for more than 240,000 pupils with SEND
The DfE has launched its Inclusion 2028 programme which will improve access to PE and school sports for pupils with SEND. The aim is to train 10,000 teachers and practitioners in England across three years and 8,000 schools. You can read the full press release here.
Support for children and young people with special educational needs
In response to the recent Public Accounts Committee report on the Government's handling of SEND, the DfE published their intentions on 9 May. In it they respond to the 7 conclusions that the PAC had published: The SEN system is inconsistent, inequitable and not delivering in line with expectations, which inevitably undermines parents’ confidence in … Continue reading Support for children and young people with special educational needs
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