Bridging The SEND Cliff Edge: Why Transition Must Become A Lifelong Skill

Never has there been a more relevant time to talk about transition for young people and adults with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). As one facilitator at the recent Bridging the SEND Collective – delivered by FE News and the Education Training Foundation (ETF) – put it: transition is where inclusion either becomes real, or falls apart.

The SEND ‘cliff edge’ between education and employment

Held in late April, the SEND Collective brought together practitioners, leaders and advocates from across further education (FE) and skills to work alongside senior leaders on one of the sector’s most persistent challenges: the SEND ‘cliff edge’ between education and employment. Through facilitated discussions and workshops, participants mapped the current reality, articulated a shared ambition, and identified practical actions to inform policymaking as the Government’s Every Child Achieving and Thriving White Paper consultation draws to a close.

The deeper challenge of how we think about SEND itself

This was an opportunity to move beyond technical discussion about systems and process, and consider the deeper challenge of how we think about SEND itself. A recurring theme was that we are all part of the same puzzle. Employers, families, policymakers and practitioners each hold a piece of the jigsaw, but no single part can complete the picture on its own. If we keep passing the baton from one stage to the next, learners will continue to fall through the gaps.

Transition is not a moment – it is a lifelong skill

A consistent theme across the day was frustration with how transition is treated as a single event, typically clustered around the end of Year 11. This creates unrealistic pressure on learners, families and providers at precisely the point where information is least robust and systems are least joined up.

The Collective argued instead that transition should be understood as an ongoing capability, a skill that learners build, practise and rely on throughout their lives. SEND does not stop at an age or a stage, and neither should our support. This matters particularly for neurodivergent learners, who may experience repeated disruption as they move between settings, systems and expectations.

Participants called for transition planning to begin earlier, to be co‑designed with providers, employers, government departments, learners and families, and for a national, inclusive framework that follows the individual into and through employment, rather than stopping at the gates of the next institution.

Too much guessing, not enough anticipation

Post‑16 providers were candid that they often do not know enough about learners at the point of arrival. Information sharing between settings remains inconsistent and slow, guidance available to parents and carers is variable, and expectations across stakeholders are often unclear.

The result is a system that reacts rather than anticipates. Providers can find themselves forced to make it up as they go along, guessing first and understanding later. Given this, we perhaps should not be surprised by the situation we find ourselves in. The question is why we keep acting as though chaos is somehow unexpected.

A shift towards earlier, needs‑led information sharing – supported by clear ownership, curiosity and a common language that is understandable and accessible to all – was widely seen as essential if FE is to move from reaction to anticipation.

From diagnosis to need

One of the strongest priorities to emerge was the need to move away from diagnosis‑driven models of support towards universal design solutions. The Collective discussed a tiered, needs‑led approach that sees inclusive practice as the default, not the exception. That means:

• inclusive practice built into everyday teaching
• proactive, lightweight plans usable by non‑specialists
• escalated support for more complex need
• EHCPs reserved for the most complex cases.

The core principle is that support should be triggered by what a learner needs, not by what the system has decided to call them. This requires confidence, flexibility and trust in professional judgement, and it requires us to stop treating inclusion as something additional, rather than foundational.

Inclusion is a culture, not a service

Participants were clear that inclusion cannot be ‘delivered’ by a single team or role. It has to be chosen, enacted and sustained through leadership, relationships and culture. We need a society‑wide view of inclusion in its widest sense, one that extends beyond institutions and qualifications into families, communities and workplaces.

Four core principles started to come out of this discussion:

• inclusion lives in families and communities, not just settings
• understanding must replace tolerance
• learners should not have to mask or live a ‘double life’ between home and college
• carers and wider family networks must be brought into the picture.

This reinforces the need for whole‑organisation approaches that build confidence, creativity and flexibility across the workforce, supported by continuous training.

Education as a motorway, not a cul‑de‑sac

One of the most powerful images of the day described education as a motorway, where assessment is a service station along the route, not the destination. Yet we remain deeply hooked on qualifications as the primary driver of success. For many learners with SEND, particularly around GCSE Maths and English resits, this reliance on qualifications can actively block progression, even where functional capability is strong.

The Collective argued that educators should be trusted, and held accountable, to make professional judgements about when assessment supports a learner and when it does not. Progression should be about readiness and potential, not repeated compliance with measures that do not serve the individual.

Funding, technology and the employer gap

Funding structures were repeatedly cited as barriers, particularly where resources are distant from practice and locked behind administrative layers. When too much sits between intent and delivery, learners lose. We need to move resources closer to the front line and rise above being pitted against each other for access to them.

Technology has a critical role to play, but only if it carries the administrative load rather than adding to it. Digital tools should enable curiosity, free up educator time and support consistency, not create new forms of bureaucracy.

Finally, the employer gap remains unresolved. FE has built deep expertise in SEND inclusion; employers, by and large, have not. A shared, national framework for inclusive transition into and within the workplace is essential if we are serious about continuity beyond education.

From hope to action

One closing reflection reframed Napoleon’s claim that leaders are ‘dealers in hope’. Educators, it was suggested, are better described as ‘midwives of hope’. But hope must be underpinned by leadership, co‑design, a common language and the confidence to embrace complexity rather than shy away from it.

ETF welcomes the ambition of SEND reform and its focus on improving outcomes and transitions. Our evidence shows that SEND‑focused professional development improves practitioner confidence and practice, with 97% of participants reporting a positive impact.

The SEND Collective appeared to land on three clear, practical asks:

• mandate early, scientifically valid, non‑diagnostic assessment
• require technology to carry the administrative load
• build national accountability for transition that follows the learner into employment.

As the White Paper consultation closes, the challenge is real, but so is the opportunity. If we surface what is already working, and act as one system rather than competing parts, FE and skills can be a place of active belonging, rather than just a safety net.

By Rob West, Associate Director, Impact and Influence, Education Training Foundation (ETF)