The government’s inclusion tsar will say today that use of the “umbrella” SEND label is “misleading and obscures individual identities of children”, adding “a lot of what we categorise as ‘special’ is normal and predictable”.
Tom Rees, CEO of Ormiston Academies Trust and chair of the government’s expert advisory group for inclusion, is due to speak in Newcastle-upon-Tyne today (Thursday) on how to improve inclusion of SEND pupils in mainstream schools.
Opening the Schools North East Academies Conference, Rees is expected to lay out problems in using ‘SEND’ as an umbrella term for a hugely diverse cohort.
‘Binary’ SEND term criticised
“The term ‘SEND’ implies a binary between children, and suggests children assigned this label are fundamentally different from the norm, and that their struggles are a product of these differences rather than the systems and structures around them,” he will say.
While the term “implies a commonality of experience” among children with SEND, this is “misleading”, Rees will say.
“Under the umbrella sit those with physical disabilities, those with identified learning difficulties and disabilities, and many others without a formally identified condition who find education a struggle.”
Blanket use of the term ‘SEND’ “obscures individual identities, leading to generic policy and strategy which can expose children to inappropriate practice”.
“There is a lot of diversity within society and our school population, and a lot of what we categorise as ‘special’ is normal and predictable,” Rees will continue.
“We want to move from a system based on perceived “deficit” to a system built on dignity – where we see all children and their differences as part of the inherent beauty of humankind.”
Rees was appointed chair of the inclusion expert advisory group in November. The government is expected to announce details of the group’s remit, and the names of experts who will form it, today.
Bridget Phillipson has been clear that making mainstream schools more inclusive is one of her department’s key aims, as it seeks to tackle the ongoing SEND crisis.
Demand for SEND support has soared in recent years. The National Audit Office (NAO) says that between 2015 and 2024 there was a 140 per cent increase (to 576,000) in children with an EHCP alone.
Meanwhile DfE figures in March revealed there were approximately 4,000 more pupils on roll in special schools than there was reportedly capacity for, with around two-thirds of special schools full or over-subscribed.
Inclusion ‘secondary consideration’
Ofsted is also placing a focus on inclusion, which is expected to be a key criterion in its new report cards, due to launch in September.
Currently, inclusion is “a secondary consideration… after areas such as the curriculum and qualifications, teacher training or behaviour”, Rees will say in his speech today.
Instead, it “must be seen as a fundamental design principle of the main education system”.
He will say inclusion “is not about dumbing down the curriculum or lowering expectations”, but is instead “about an aspiration for a really high-quality education for everyone”.
He will say tackling inclusion will mean tackling the “fundamentals of schooling” – attendance, behaviour, and curriculum.
Authorities “should know where every child is in a local area” and make sure they are in a safe and registered provision.
Meanwhile classrooms and schools “should be calm, predictable environments which are conducive to learning…places of warmth and belonging, where every child is known as an individual and their strengths are celebrated”.
“When children find learning difficult, wherever possible we want teachers and support staff to be able to help as the people who know them best through adaptive and individualised support.”
Call for all school staff to get SEND training
Writing for Schools Week in June, Rees said the sheer number of children being labelled ‘SEND’ at some point in their school career is currently “too high a number to deal with through specialist or personalised intervention”.
“Through ten years of rebuilding and renewal, it should become normal for the vast majority of learning needs to be more precisely understood and catered for in mainstream schools through ordinarily available provision,” he wrote.
He said that in order to facilitate this, the government must invest in a national programme of professional development for all members of school staff, to built in-house expertise in SEND.
Last month, a major new parliamentary inquiry was launched in a bid to find new solutions to the growing crisis in special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision.
Among its focuses will be looking at how mainstream schools and other educational settings can be more inclusive to children with SEND, and increasing the capacity of SEND provision.
