Schools in England ‘need complex changes’ to take more pupils with special needs

Overhauling England’s schools to take more children with special needs will require complex and detailed changes to how they operate, according to an expert review.

While the review found a number of examples where schools had accommodated a wide range of children with special educational needs (SEN), it also pointed to the extraordinary lengths schools had had to go to promote inclusion.

Tom Rees, who led the review and chairs the Department for Education’s expert advisory group on inclusion, said: “There’s a lot of work that needs to be done so that mainstream schools become more inclusive for pupils with special needs, but in our work we’ve seen many examples that show it can be done and which are a model of excellent practice.

“Parents need to know and have confidence that their child’s needs can be met within a mainstream school. But making mainstream schools more inclusive doesn’t just help those with special needs – it improves the quality of education for all children.”

The review recommends that schools establish three internal tiers of support, with teachers able to quickly move children between tiers as needs change:

• Universal, for all pupils

• Targeted intervention “for pupils not making expected progress”

• Specialist support “for pupils with persistent barriers to learning”

Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, has made greater inclusion a key part of her efforts to remodel special needs provision in England as the numbers of children and young people requiring SEN support is reaching record levels and exhausting school and council budgets.

Parents and campaigners fear that the government’s reforms will restrict or phase out the use of education, health and care plans (EHCPs) that give statutory force to support for children and young people assessed as having special needs or disabilities.

The evidence collected by the review suggested schools would require a series of complex and detailed changes to their operations, including staff training and development, prolonged liaison with parents, and cooperation with external agencies, such as local authorities and the NHS.

Phillipson said the review would help schools “create the foundations” of the changes to be outlined in a white paper in autumn, offering “better support in mainstream schools and special school places for those who need them”.

Phillipson added: “Despite the system desperately struggling to cope, there are pockets of outstanding practice already in place in schools that show our vision for reform is possible.”

Paul Whiteman, the general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: “Schools care deeply about providing an inclusive environment for all children, including pupils with special educational needs, and work tirelessly to achieve this.

“However, their ability to do so is often hamstrung by shortages of funding, resources and access to specialist staff and support in the community. There is an unfair postcode lottery in the provision available depending on the financial position of local authorities and local health services, many of which suffered from years of underfunding under the previous government.”

Rees said the review gave “hope and encouragement” that inclusion could work, but added: “This project has also reminded us how much inconsistency exists within the SEN system in terms of frameworks, training, advice and resources.

“We should be ambitious for much better support for teachers and schools in the future.”