Leaders take a graduated approach… staff receive suitable training and support to implement this approach.
(Ofsted, state-funded schools inspection toolkit 2025)
Embedding inclusion across a trust or a school takes more than compliance – it requires a cultural shift. While compliance ensures statutory requirements are met, moving from compliance to culture depends on a workforce that is confident, knowledgeable and skilled in identifying and supporting pupils with SEND.
In the last blog in our SEND series, we explored the importance of really knowing the child. To do this, we need to support staff at all levels to use adaptive strategies that work in practice. And to give staff the skills and confidence to use these strategies, we need to upskill them.
Professional development for all roles
One of the clearest messages coming through from schools, trusts and national policy is that SEND cannot sit with one role, one team or one individual. Effective SEND provision depends on teachers, teaching assistants, leaders and support staff all having access to meaningful, practical professional development.
When staff at every level understand how to spot emerging needs early and respond appropriately, inclusion stops being an add-on and starts to feel embedded.
And as we know, upskilling isn’t just about knowledge but about confidence and mindset too. Staff need time to practise and space to reflect on their learning. We see the biggest impact where CPD is paired with collaboration – peer support, access to SEND specialists and opportunities to apply learning in real classrooms rather than one-off training sessions that never quite stick.
Why CPD has to be ongoing
On 16 January 2026, the DfE announced that it will allocate £200 million of funding for the delivery of SEND-specific training for all levels in schools. This new requirement will be for all teaching staff to receive training to support awareness of needs and practical adaptations.
This is a welcome and much-needed investment, addressing a long-standing gap in the sector. It has the potential to raise the bar for distributed accountability across trusts and schools, and to finally move away from the outdated culture in mainstream in which the SENDCo is seen as solely responsible for the identification and support of pupils with SEND. Crucially, it should lead to greater understanding at all levels of the workforce and support a cultural shift towards genuinely inclusive school communities.
The DfE states that “the courses will promote practical skills about how to make education more inclusive, how to work effectively with parents and how targeted support can ensure every student reaches their full potential.”
This sounds positive and is certainly aligned with what we know works as a sector – training that is practical and allows teachers and support staff to apply what they’ve learnt.
What will be crucial, though, is that trusts and school leaders support the implementation of the training, as this will be the only way teachers, TAs and leaders will develop increased confidence over time. A useful test for leaders is this: can staff describe one adaptation they will use tomorrow, and do they have the time, tools and feedback to embed it over weeks, not days?
The Impact of Workforce Development
When professional development is strategic and collaborative, the benefits are clear:
- Teachers feel confident adapting teaching to meet pupil needs
- Support staff understand their role in delivering high-impact interventions
- SENCos and leaders can see the impact of their strategy in every classroom, every day
Ultimately, workforce development ensures that SEND provision is systemic, responsive and sustainable, moving trusts beyond a compliance mindset toward a culture of inclusion that benefits every pupil. To make this measurable, consider tracking not only course completion, but also the “practice moves” you expect to see in classrooms, and whether they are happening consistently. Do staff leave training knowing what to do differently tomorrow, or just knowing more?
Leadership matters
One point that’s raised in the Solving the SEND Crisis paper (2025), and something we’ve been exploring in our blog series and conversations here at SEG, is the importance of transformational leadership in SEND.
The paper highlighted the need for leaders to receive SEND leadership training specific to their role. This would look different at different levels. A MAT leader, Headteacher and Executive Head would, in an ideal world, receive training focused on SEND leadership that is tailored to the needs of their role and level.
Too often, SEND inclusion rests on the shoulders of one SENCo, whose capacity may already be stretched thin.
But when senior leaders prioritise SEND, inclusion follows. That’s why there are growing calls for SEND expertise to be embedded at the leadership level, including through SEND-focused NPQs and wider leadership training. SEND shouldn’t be a specialism that sits on the edges of leadership – it should be part of how decisions are made.
We’re already seeing trusts take this seriously, with leaders undertaking SEND NPQs and building SEND knowledge across leadership teams rather than concentrating it in one role.
Harnessing Opportunities: Apprenticeships and Partnerships
Trusts can leverage tools such as the apprenticeship levy to fund SEND-specific training pathways. Tools such as SkillsHub can help trusts plan how levy funding supports role-based development and progression. Partnerships with providers, such as Best Practice Network, also enable trusts to create tailored training pathways – for example, SEND ITT programmes that equip new teachers and teaching assistants with specialist knowledge from the start of their careers.
National Context and Roundtable Insights
At our recent SEND Roundtable, which took place prior to the DfE announcement about the SEND Teacher Training Programme, MAT leaders discussed the importance of early, accurate identification of need and the need for all school leaders – not just SENCos – to be trained in SEND. It’s great to see the need being acknowledged by the government and the significant commitment to developing an inclusive workforce.
Looking ahead, the anticipated SEND White Paper is expected to provide wider context for a renewed system that places staff development at its core to ultimately serve all children and young people.