In the media | SENDsational Futures
Our SEND Director, Liz Murray, contributed an article on Best Practice Network’s SEND-specific Initial Teacher Training pathway, originally published in SENDsational Futures.
We’re all waiting for the SEND White Paper with bated breath, after what seems like months of the publication date being pushed back.
Those of us who work in SEND have been looking for signs of what will be included in the document.
If the Department for Education’s (DfE) recent training announcement is any guide, hopes are high that the White Paper’s promise of wide-ranging reforms to the system will be fulfilled. We hope.
The £200 million investment in courses is intended to help teaching staff adapt their teaching to meet a wide range of needs in the classroom, including visual impairments and speech and language needs.
The DfE says these courses will help teachers to transform children’s access to education, such as using assistive technology like speech to text dictation tools, and building awareness of additional needs amongst all pupils, so every child can succeed.
Underpinning the training will be a new expectation set out in the SEND Code of Practice, confirming that all staff in every nursery, school and colleague should receive training on SEND and inclusion – making sure that every teacher nationwide is reached.
It’s a welcome and much-needed intervention which addresses a long-standing gap in the sector, with the potential to raise the bar for distributed accountability across trusts and schools.
And it will finally move away from the outdated culture in which the Senco is seen as solely responsible for the identification and support of pupils with SEND.
Making SEND a career choice
But the impact of this initiative will depend heavily on the quality of its design and delivery. If the training is developed and led by experts with a proven track record, it has the potential to be truly transformative.
It is particularly positive to see that teachers and teaching assistants will receive training focused on the practical aspects of identification and classroom adaptation.
This is essential if the initiative is to deliver impact quickly; it should not require a prolonged period before meaningful change is seen in classrooms.
The inclusion of early years provision is also encouraging, as it should support earlier and more accurate identification of need.
Timely intervention can make a significant difference, preventing needs from being exacerbated by delays in support.
“A truly inclusive system requires teachers who are equipped with a specialist skillset from the outset of their careers.”
While it is welcome that leadership training is referenced through National Professional Qualifications (NPQs), there is a strong case for this to be extended further to ensure that inclusive practice is consistently embedded at every level of school and trust leadership.
A SEND-specific Initial Teacher Training (ITT) pathway would complement and strengthen this work.
With increasing numbers of pupils presenting with complex needs across both specialist and mainstream settings, a truly inclusive system requires teachers who are equipped with a specialist skillset from the outset of their careers.
It is this teacher development gap which needs to be among the fundamental issues addressed in the new SEND White Paper.
This gap has developed because a mainstream framework still dominates teacher training, forcing SEND ITT routes to ‘bolt on’ rather than stand alone.
Supporting success
Supporting Education Group, working with Oxfordshire-based SEND specialist multi-academy trust The Gallery Trust, launched a successful primary SEND ITT programme in 2024.
It’s a success story which has prompted interest from trusts around the country.
The programme has seen more than 70 teachers graduate and go on to work in SEND schools in the main, with another 127 currently on the programme.
“Current ITT regulations enforce age-phase rules that don’t fit SEND contexts.”
However, an issue they have identified is that applicants working in specialist settings where pupils are at Key Stage 3 can’t be accommodated on this or other similar programmes, as it doesn’t align with primary pathways – and they can’t access secondary routes if pupils are not engaging with the Key Stage 4 curriculum.
This is because SEND ITT provision is still expected to work within a framework set for mainstream teacher training – current ITT regulations enforce age-phase rules that don’t fit SEND contexts.
As Harry Paget-Wall Collins, Deputy CEO of The Gallery Trust, said: “The clear problem is that the current age-phased ruling prevents some trainee teachers accessing SEND ITT, impacting on their choices and opportunities for appropriate training and development from the start.”
While the government’s £200 million announcement is welcome and will make a difference to the level of SEND support in our schools, a close look needs to be taken at the principles which underpin training routes.
I’d urge for the return of developmental stages, rather than age-phase, as the organising principle for SEND ITT.
Much is riding on the SEND White Paper, and it should contain much to look forward to – especially if it seeks to address some of the structural issues present in teacher training routes.
Crucially, it should lead to greater understanding at all levels of the workforce and support a cultural shift towards genuinely inclusive school communities.
This article was originally published in SENDsational Futures and is reproduced here with permission. You can read the original on the SENDsational Futures website.