The government’s recent announcement of £200 million for a new, ringfenced training package to support pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) was a welcome step.
For years, schools have been asked to meet increasingly complex needs with limited resources, and the commitment to fund professional development specifically for SEND is long overdue.
The pledge that this money is protected for training, rather than absorbed into wider budgets, is particularly encouraging.
The headline promise is ambitious: “a new landmark training package for school staff on supporting children with SEND, with an investment of over £200 million over three years.”
What this will look like in practice, however, remains open to interpretation.
Communication needs are often misunderstood or under identified
The Department for Education (DfE) has set out a vision, but the operational detail – what training will be delivered, by whom, to whom, and with what expected outcomes – has yet to be fully articulated.
From a speech and language therapy perspective, this detail is crucial.
Communication needs are among the most common areas of SEND, and yet they are often misunderstood or under identified.
If this investment is to make a meaningful difference, the expectations for training must be clearly defined, monitored and evidenced.
Schools will need to know not only what staff should learn, but how the impact of that learning will be measured in classroom practice and pupil outcomes.
Quality assurance is another essential consideration. SEND is not a single domain; it spans cognition, communication, physical needs, sensory profiles, social and emotional development, and more.
Effective training must therefore draw on the expertise of specialists across these fields.
The DfE will need to strike a careful balance between breadth and depth – ensuring that staff gain a solid grounding across the SEND landscape while also accessing targeted, high-quality input from professionals with extensive expertise in specific areas.
A one size fits all model of staff training risks missing the mark
Training supported by experienced specialists will connect experts with direct and far-reaching impact in the classroom.
It is encouraging that the recent White Paper, Every Child Achieving and Thriving, explicitly includes support staff in its vision: “support staff will benefit from our new training package on inclusion”.
This recognition is vital. Teaching assistants and other classroom-based staff are often the adults working most closely with pupils with SEND.
Ensuring they receive robust, accessible training – and that all relevant staff reach an appropriate level of understanding – will be key to creating consistent, inclusive environments with all staff pulling in the same direction.
Flexibility must sit at the heart of the plan. Schools vary enormously in their contexts, priorities and staff experience.
A one size fits all model risks missing the mark. Schools need trusted providers, support to identify strengths and gaps in practice, and the freedom to choose training formats and content that align with their setting and its needs.
At the same time, they must maintain internal consistency so that pupils experience a coherent, predictable approach across the whole school.
Finally, this investment must not be treated as a one-off catchup exercise. SEND practice evolves, staff teams change, and ongoing professional development is essential.
It is reassuring that the White Paper also commits to improving professional development “at all points in [a teacher’s] career” and that the new Teacher Training Entitlement will strengthen long-term CPD opportunities.
While not SEND specific, it should provide additional scope for schools to sustain and deepen their SEND expertise.
The £200 million commitment is a strong foundation. The challenge now is ensuring that the structure built upon it is robust, inclusive and genuinely transformative for the children who need it most.
