The DfE has announced that local areas will begin increasing access to speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and educational psychologists from September 2026. More children and young people with SEND will get specialist support without needing a diagnosis, as the government begins rolling out a new Experts at Hand service across England backed by new £1.8 … Continue reading Local areas prepare new Experts at Hand teams
Tag: SEND
The problem of SEND “magnet schools”
It comes as no surprise to read the conclusion of a new NFER report that highlights the issue that schools that proved good SEND support tend to become magnets as parents chose to send their children there. The report also finds that this is reinforced by variation in school practices, with some schools less willing … Continue reading The problem of SEND “magnet schools”
Experts at Hand & Local Authority SEND Transformation Fund
The Department for Education has announced the funding for local authorities 2026 to 2027 for the new Experts at Hand & Local Authority SEND Transformation Fund. You can find details on their website, here.
Every child achieving and thriving
The long-awaited education policy white paper was published on 23 February. Entitled Every child achieving and thriving, The Forward notes: This white paper is our plan to build a system that matches the ambition we have for our children, a system that works for the children neglected for too long, that stretches every child further, … Continue reading Every child achieving and thriving
Generative AI: product safety standards
The Department for Education has published updated guidelines for AI that developers and suppliers should incorporate for educational products. The guidelines are available on their website, here.
£200 million SEND teacher training programme
Acting on the feedback from parents shared through the national conversation on SEND, the government is making sure that children in every classroom will benefit from brilliant teachers trained in supporting a wide range of needs. So the Department of Education announced, on January 16th, new SEND courses available to all teaching staff to deepen … Continue reading £200 million SEND teacher training programme
NGA publishes policy paper on SEND
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
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
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