Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, has called on ministers attending the Education World Forum (EWF) to create a new international SEND alliance.
Speaking at the event, she said the alliance would meet three times a year as part of a coalition of countries, “coming together across a series of summits, to chart a common path forward”.
Her speech came on the day that the government closed the consultation on its SEND reforms.
In her address, Phillipson (pictured) outlined to delegates the government’s proposals for the future of SEND in England.
She added: “For these children we will go beyond warm words. Our countries will compare experiences, share what works, and agree clear action plans that governments can take forward.
We can’t have a strong and inclusive society without a strong and inclusive education system
“I urge all countries here today to join us, let’s come together on this shared challenge, so we can learn from one another, and build education systems of excellence and inclusion, fit for the 2030s and beyond.”
The alliance will meet at the Bett conference in January, the EWF in May and at the international summit on the teaching profession.
Phillipson warned there was a “fallacy that inclusion dilutes high standards in our schools”, which “comes, I think, from the false belief that academic achievement is only for some children, and not for others.
“The chronic underperformance of these children was met too often not with a shout of outrage but with a sigh of resignation.
“In this country for many years these children have been sidelined, sent to schools far away from home, by an approach unable or unwilling to accommodate them in their local school.”
Phillipson said her government sees inclusion and standards as “not enemies, but friends, not in conflict but in concert, one strengthening the other”.
She warned that “we can’t have a strong and inclusive society without a strong and inclusive education system”.
