Across schools and trusts, leaders are asking similar questions: why does engagement look so different from one setting to another? Why do some families feel confident working with schools, while others feel the need to push for formal plans before trust is established?
These questions were at the heart of a recent roundtable hosted by Supporting Education Group and nasen. The event brought together research professionals, MAT and school leaders and those leading specialist provision to explore what helps children and families feel that they genuinely belong in school communities – and why that matters for learners with SEND and their families.
What we are seeing in schools
Emerging research shared at the roundtable highlights just how inconsistent SEND support can be across mainstream settings. Some schools support high numbers of pupils with EHCPs, while others carry significant levels of SEND Support that often goes unseen. Identification practices vary, thresholds differ across local authorities and regions, and the language we use to describe need is inconsistent across the country.
For families, this can create uncertainty. Many feel that formal processes or diagnoses offer the only sense of security. Schools with strong inclusive reputations often attract higher numbers of pupils with SEND – bringing both opportunity and pressure.
What changes when belonging comes first?
Examples from leaders in the group showed how a relational approach can alter the relationship between the school and families.
At Maritime Academy Trust, community engagement starts early and intentionally. Community Ambassadors – often parents or family members themselves – act as bridges between schools, families and local services. Their work begins with listening: in playgrounds, coffee mornings and informal conversations. From this come practical, locally shaped initiatives – from stay-and-play sessions and skills academies to support for families around routines, wellbeing and school readiness.
At Pears Family School, the focus is on partnership rather than engagement. Families are supported to “Recover, Rebuild and Reintegrate,” recognising that many arrive exhausted and mistrustful after navigating complex systems. Active warmth, respectful curiosity and a non-judgemental stance create the conditions for trust, while work on executive function supports children and parents and carers alike to move forward with confidence.
Both cases demonstrate that change in school is unlikely to last unless it connects meaningfully with life at home.
Moving beyond labels
The discussion among leaders also challenged an over-reliance on diagnosis-led approaches. While labels can unlock support, they can also limit thinking about what children need to thrive day to day.
Insights from neuroscience, including recognition of the impact of stress susceptibility, stress generation and social thinning, help explain disengagement and reinforce the importance of relationship, regulation and connection. Supporting executive function benefits all learners, regardless of need or diagnosis.
Shared principles, shaped by context
Excellence in supporting learners with SEND to achieve the best outcomes requires a focus on adaptive teaching, thoughtful transitions and pupils making progress in the moment. To achieve this, clarity in approach matters, but so does flexibility. So, rather than calling for a single model of best practice, participants in the roundtable emphasised the importance of shared principles.
Trust-wide principles can create a culture which supports consistency without constraining schools’ ability to respond to their communities.
The group of leaders at the roundtable came up with the following 9 key principles for creating belonging for increased engagement, shaped through the lenses of leadership, community and context.
Leadership
- Leaders prioritise early identification, valuing all voices to drive effective change. They create psychological safety where mistakes are framed as learning opportunities. They aren’t afraid to start a new initiative without a perfect roadmap.
- Leaders work with others to achieve more than they could alone. They share, listen, contribute, and have a collective mindset. They are courageous even when decisions are difficult, unpopular, or inconvenient.
- Leaders create belief and momentum by steering clear direction, modelling high standards and recognising others’ achievements, creating a culture where people understand why their contribution matters.
Context
- Leaders actively seek true co-production with all stakeholders, communicating with clarity and empathy ensuring all are understood, listened to, and respected.
- Leaders respect the knowledge of others and are seen as reliable and consistent in action.
- Leaders let go of distractions and don’t allow things out of their control to drown their energy.
Community
- Leaders maintain accountability and evaluate the meaningful benefit to the wider community.
- Leaders seek to understand the community they serve through respectful inquiry to ensure personalisation and responsive action.
- Leaders are non-judgemental and transparent, demonstrating active warmth through empathy, fostering trust and mutual understanding.
Belonging as the foundation
What emerged strongly during the day was that when relationships are prioritised, trust grows, difficult conversations become possible and families are less likely to feel that formal processes are the only route to support.
Belonging is not a programme or an intervention. It is the foundation on which sustainable SEND practice is built.
At nasen and Supporting Education Group, we see this as a collective endeavour. We’re really pleased to be working together in partnership, and feel it represents how important both organisations feel collaboration and partnership is to improve our SEND system at every level.
This blog post was written as a collaboration between Supporting Education Group and nasen.
We explored these principles further in our webinar, Creating Belonging for Increased Engagement.