The Rise Of The ‘Sendbetweeners’: Why The Mainstream Model Is Failing Our Most Vulnerable Students
This article draws on insights from a recent schools-focused event, but the principles extend far beyond the classroom. Many FE colleges are now grappling with the consequences of these systemic failures at school level, inheriting learners whose needs were overlooked or inadequately supported. The challenges of early intervention, inclusion, and accountability are sector-wide issues that demand attention across all phases of education.
Crisis, What Crisis?
The crisis in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provision is not a fringe issue anymore; it is the defining challenge of our current educational landscape. At a recent industry event titled “The SEND Reform Principle Of Early,” a panel of leading experts, which included the Schools Minister, the Children’s Commissioner and experienced school leaders, gathered to analyse and dissect a system which is widely acknowledged to be crumbling.
The consensus of opinion was, in my view, stark: the current model is inefficient and is actively damaging a generation of young people. Central to this discussion was the emergence of a demographic who were referred to as the “sendbetweeners”, that is, children who occupy the precarious grey area between needing standard mainstream education and requiring high-level specialist care. These are the children slipping through the cracks, an indictment of a system which has failed to adapt.
When The Mainstream Isn’t Working
The fundamental premise of the discussion was that the “one-size-fits-all” model of mainstream schooling is obsolete. For decades, the system has relied on a rigid structure of standardised assessment and delivery, assuming that children with additional needs could simply be bolted onto the side of existing structures.
Georgia Gould, the Schools Minister, did not mince words regarding the structural incapacity of the current system. “Mainstream schools sadly are not set up for SEND.” It was a candid acknowledgment from the Government that the physical and pedagogical structure of our schools is often hostile to neurodivergent children or those with complex needs.
This lack of setup creates the “sendbetweener”, students who might thrive in a mainstream setting if provided with specific, targeted adjustments, such as speech and language therapy or sensory regulation, but who, in the absence of those tools, drift into ‘failure’. Gould emphasised that accountability is key, noting that she is keen to have difficult conversations.
The Fallout Is Falling Out of Education
When mainstream environments fail to adapt, the result is not just poor grades; it is exclusion. Rachel de Souza, the Children’s Commissioner, having spoken to over one million children during her tenure, brought the voice and concerns of the child into the discussion. Her findings paint a heartbreaking picture of young people who want to learn but are being pushed out by a system which pathologizes them.
“The question should be ‘how can we help you?’ not ‘what’s wrong with you?’” de Souza asserted. She noted that children consistently tell her four things: they don’t want labels, they want to be with their friends, they want to be part of the community, and they want to do well at school.
However, schools often lack the context to support these wishes. De Souza highlighted a disturbing disconnection where head teachers often do not know if a child has suffered a bereavement or if a parent has gone to prison. This lack of holistic understanding means trauma can be mistaken for bad behaviour, leading to exclusion. Once a child falls out of the system, getting back into “the curriculum” can be a monumental struggle. Such children are often left isolated, viewed as “problems” to be managed rather than children to be supported.
The Disturbing Trend Of Displacement
Perhaps the most distressing symptom of the current crisis is the “out-of-sight, out-of-mind” approach to complex cases. Because mainstream schools lack the expertise and resources to cope, the default solution is often to send children to specialist provisions far from their homes.
This removal from the locality is socially and emotionally damaging. It severs the child’s ties with their community and their friends, reinforcing the idea that they do not belong.
Tom Rees, Chair of Expert Advisory Group and CEO of Ormiston Schools, argued passionately against this segregation. “It’s really important to keep children together so they stay at the same school, and keep the resource close to the classroom,” he stated. Rees emphasised that “intervention needs to be earlier in the cycle of needs,” identifying issues before they result in displacement. By treating inclusion as a geographical imperative as well as an educational one, we can prevent the isolation which defines the lives of so many SEND children.
A Shortage Of Expertise And Understanding
But even when the will to include is present, the way is blocked by a severe shortage of skilled professionals. The panel highlighted a massive scarcity of speech and language therapists and specialised teaching assistants.
Liz Robinson, Head of Big Schools in London, illustrated the resource drain with a practical example from Felicity Gillespie regarding reception classes. She noted that many classes now waste up to two and a half hours a day simply because of children not being ‘school ready’, lacking such things as potty training. “How much work could be done? What a waste of time,” she noted, not to blame the children, but to highlight how basic developmental gaps are consuming the time needed for intervention.
Gould echoed this, stating that schools “need new tools to help teachers” with support. Without a surge in funding and training, teachers are being asked to be social workers, therapists and quasi-parents, all while also trying to deliver a rigid curriculum.
The Bureaucracy Of Failure: EHCPs
One of the mechanisms designed to address these issues, the Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), has been roundly criticised as unfit for purpose. Ideally, an EHCP is a golden ticket to support. In reality, it can be a bureaucratic nightmare.
Rachel de Souza was critical of the current state of these plans, noting that “EHCPs don’t do the right thing, and a lot of children have no plans.” The documents are frequently out of date, written by administrative figures who have never met the child, and are unsympathetic to the nuanced reality of a student’s daily life. The process is adversarial, pitting desperate parents against cash-strapped councils.
“The system can’t get in the way,” de Souza insisted, calling for a massive need to speed up and beef up the process. When a child is in crisis, a six-month wait for paperwork is a lifetime.
Measuring Success: Beyond Grades And Casualties
Ultimately, the reform of SEND requires a philosophical shift in what we value. Liz Robinson posed the most pertinent question: “How do we measure success?”
She argued that schools are currently “incentivised for the wrong behaviours.” The relentless focus on standardised assessments creates a binary system of winners and losers. If a child does not meet the “desired standard,” they are statistically framed as a failure, regardless of their personal progress or potential. This data-driven casualty list is what propels the exclusion of the “sendbetweeners.”
Tom Rees added that we must “think of inclusion as a process,” rather than a destination. It is continuous work, not another box to be ticked.
A Way Forward: Solutions For A Broken System
Based on the narrative presented by the panel, a roadmap for repair emerges. It requires much more than just distinct policy tweaks.
- Co-location of Services: We must end the practice of shipping children away. Specialist education should be legally and physically attached to mainstream schools. This would allow “sendbetweeners” to access specialist support while remaining integrated with their friends and community.
- Data-Driven Context: We need the “new UI”, a national system which securely shares vital contextual data (such as involvement with the justice system or social care) with head teachers. Schools cannot support what they do not know.
- Redefining Accountability: Ofsted’s focus determines school behaviour. Ofsted is now keen to look at inclusion, and this must become a primary metric. Schools should be judged not just on the grades of their top 10%, but also on the retention and happiness of students, including their bottom 10%.
- The Earlier The Intervention The Better: Dedicated funding streams are needed specifically for the early years to tackle the “potty training” crisis and language deficits before school starts. Anticipating needs would prevent the daily, ongoing crisis management which currently costs the system millions.
The era of the “sendbetweener”, the child left hovering in the gap between systems, must end. By bringing resources into the classroom and redefining what a successful education looks like, we can ensure that every child, regardless of their needs, has the right to learn alongside their friends.
By Neil Wolstenholme, Kloodle Chairman
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