£200m Landmark SEND Training Programme for Every College and School

• More children and young people to receive the right support early on, as government delivers more training on SEND and inclusion than ever before. 
• £200 million invested over the course of this Parliament to upskill staff in every school, college and nursery – ensuring a skilled workforce for generations to come. 
• New expectation means every teacher nationwide receives training to support pupils, as government makes good on promise to deliver reforms families are crying out for

More children and young people with SEND to thrive at their local nursery, school or college as the government unveils the most ambitious and comprehensive SEND training offer ever seen by the English schools system. 

Acting on the feedback from parents shared through the national conversation on SEND, the government is making sure that children in every classroom will benefit from brilliant teachers trained in supporting a wide range of needs. 

For too long, training on SEND has been inconsistent, with almost half of primary and secondary teachers saying that more training would help their confidence in supporting pupils with SEND.  That’s why government is reforming the SEND system giving parents the confidence that their child can achieve and thrive at their local school.

Backed by £200 million, new courses available to all teaching staff will deepen knowledge of how to adapt their teaching to meet a wide range of needs in the classroom, including visual impairments and speech and language needs.

Teachers will learn about the things we know can transform how children access 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 go on to 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 college should receive training on SEND and inclusion, making sure that every teacher nationwide is reached.  

Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson said:   

“Every child, wherever they live and whatever their needs, should have the opportunity to go to a local school where they can achieve and thrive.

“That’s why we’re equipping staff across every stage of education with more training on SEND and inclusion than ever before – helping to deliver our vision of a truly inclusive education system.  

“This is a key part of our mission to reform the SEND system so that schools can take children from forgotten to included and give parents the confidence that the right support will be there at every stage of their child’s education.”

Today’s announcement builds on a landmark £3 billion investment to deliver around 50,000 more inclusive spaces in mainstream schools, by matching these spaces with expert staff – and reflects extensive engagement with parents and teachers and experts over the last year and as part of the government’s national conversation on SEND.  This is on top of the £740 million already invested to create over 10,000 specialist places.

The package will crucially enable children to feel safe and welcome in school, promoting good attendance, attainment and wellbeing. This marks a key step towards delivering on the government’s mission to make inclusive practice the norm across all schools.  

The investment forms a central pillar of the government’s SEND reform plans, covering children with SEND in their earliest years, through to age 25. The new training offer will help restore parents’ confidence that their children will be supported throughout every stage of their education.   

Delivered flexibly to slot into teachers’ busy schedules, 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.  

For experienced teachers and leaders this represents a marked shift. While existing training is wrapped around those new to the workforce and those stepping up into leadership roles, through initial and early teacher training or National Professional Qualifications, there is a clear gap in support for those in-post looking to build their skills further.  

The new training courses will help target this gap. Kicking off from next year, flexible online self-study sessions and live in-person lessons will be available, recognising the workforce’s already busy workload.   

Other key features of the training package include:  

• High-quality training materials, developed alongside experts, will be shared with every school and college to enable in-house training for all staff on SEND and inclusion. 
• Investment in training for teaching assistants, developed in collaboration with the sector over the coming months – ensuring support staff feel equipped and confident to support all students with SEND.  
• A new Early Years CPD programme, providing free, accessible training focused on inclusive practice, child development, and practical strategies for supporting children with SEND – available to all early years practitioners.  

The Schools White Paper will be published early this year, setting out the government’s full plans to reform the SEND system.   

Sector Reaction

David Hughes, Chief Executive, Association of Colleges, said:  

“This is a positive investment to support the training on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) for staff in early years, schools and colleges. Colleges across the country do a wonderful job in supporting students with a vast range of abilities to participate and succeed on academic and vocational courses. Colleges are highly inclusive and this substantial investment should help them to build on the brilliant work that they do. The timescale is realistic, and will allow the DfE to engage with colleges to make sure that the training offer fits the distinct needs of college students, and the lecturers and support staff who work with them.” 

Bill Watkin, SFCA Chief Executive, said:

“Sixth Form Colleges welcome the government’s recognition of the need for additional support and funding to address the increasing number of young people with special educational needs and disabilities.  

“College teachers play a vital role in meeting the diverse needs of SEND students and they will benefit from the government’s commitment to this agenda in developing both capacity and expertise.”  

Hilary Spencer, Ambition Institute CEO, said:  

“We really welcome this announcement to invest significantly in SEND professional development for school staff.  Supporting teachers and leaders to develop their skills and knowledge more consistently will be really important in enabling our education system to be even more inclusive, so that every child gets high quality support. 

“Every child deserves to feel included and able to achieve their potential, and we know that teachers and leaders across the country want to feel confident and well-equipped to support all children.  This should help give parents, students and educators confidence that more of their needs will be met.” 

Jane Harris, Chief Executive of Speech and Language UK, said:

“We are pleased to see a serious investment in training for early years and school staff – the system cannot support children with SEND without the skills and knowledge to do so. We hope this new training covers children with lifelong speech and language challenges such as the 690,000 children in England with Developmental Language Disorder who are too often forgotten in neurodiversity training.

“Government must also remember that children spend most of their time outside of school and nurseries, and new parents do not automatically have the extra skills needed to parent a child with lifelong speech and language challenges. We hope that the forthcoming Schools White Paper includes a training offer for parent carers as well as professional staff.

“If Government is serious about inclusion, it must back training across the whole system — teachers, TAs and parents — so the 800,000 children with lifelong speech and language challenges are supported early, not misunderstood and wrongly punished later.”

Tom Rees, Chair of the Expert Advisory Group on Inclusion, said: 

“This investment is very welcome and an important step forward as we build a more high-performing and inclusive school system, in which all children can experience success at school. Building confidence and expertise across the school workforce is central to this reform, and high-quality and evidence-based professional development is one of the most effective ways we can achieve that. 

“It is particularly positive that this training will reach the whole workforce, including teaching assistants and support staff, who play a vital role in supporting inclusion every day. A well-trained, supported workforce benefits all children, but it is especially important for children who find learning most difficult, so staff can have the knowledge and confidence to support them early and effectively. 

Cathie Paine, CEO of REAch2 said: 

“For too long, schools have been working heroically to meet rising and increasingly complex levels of need, often without the sustained training, time or specialist support required to do this work well. This significant investment recognises a simple but powerful truth: if we want truly inclusive education systems, we must first invest in the people who make inclusion happen. Great teaching is only great teaching if it works for every pupil. When teachers and support staff are equipped with the right knowledge, confidence and tools, every child stands to benefit.” 

“At REAch2, we see every day that inclusion is not an add-on but the heartbeat of great teaching. Our trust-wide approach to SEND, rooted in sustained, evidence-informed CPD, has shown that when staff are supported to plan ambitiously, adapt responsively and work closely with families, the impact is transformational. National investment in workforce development gives us the chance to turn inclusive practice from an aspiration into a lived reality. This is how we build a system where every child is not only supported, but expected and empowered to thrive.”

Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

“We welcome investment in SEND training to help ensure that education staff are equipped to meet a wide range of needs among pupils.

“Given the increasing complexity of need schools are seeing, it is only right that teachers and support staff are given high-quality training in this area. The right training is often lacking at the moment, and it is vital this situation improves to help schools, including mainstream settings which support most children with additional needs, in their efforts to provide an inclusive learning environment.

“However, training alone will not be enough – it must be part of a comprehensive package of reform and investment. Both mainstream and special schools need better access to specialist staff and sufficient funding. Pupils with additional needs often require additional adult support and schools must have enough resources to deliver this.

“Investment under the previous government failed to keep up with increased demand, leaving families at the mercy of a messy local authority postcode lottery – made worse by shortages of specialists like educational psychologists and speech and language therapists in some areas. It is vital that the government rebuilds the supports services that have been decimated under previous administrations.

“This means many pupils are not receiving the level of support they desperately need, and it is crucial all these things are addressed by the government’s long awaited SEND reforms.”

Pepe Di’Iasio, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said:

“The government is right that providing additional training is a key part of building a better system to support children with special educational needs, and we welcome this commitment. Whether this investment is sufficient to deliver training of the depth and quality required at massive scale across a system in which there are around half a million teachers remains to be seen.

“The expectation that all staff in every nursery, school and college should receive training on SEND and inclusion is good in principle but is a huge undertaking and it will clearly take time to deliver in practice.

“And this investment must be sustained so that SEND training is part of ongoing professional development. It is too important to be a one-off block of training. Schools and colleges need sufficient support to enable them to ensure that training can continue to be provided as professional practice and knowledge develops and is updated.This is vital in meeting the needs of children and the expectations of parents.”

Matt Wrack, General Secretary of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union, said:

“Let us be very clear: our SEND system needs major reform. While £200m to support teacher SEND training is very welcome, it is also barely a drop in the bucket of the funding necessary to make sustained and significant change.

“Teachers alone cannot avert the SEND crisis, no matter their levels of expertise. Our members report rising numbers of pupils with increasingly complex SEND and mental health needs, long delays in accessing assessments and specialist support, cuts to external services, and growing levels of stress. Any new training expectations placed upon teachers must recognise these realities. Many teachers tell us they work in excess of fifty hours a week; without a reduction in this excessive workload, where will they find time to train or take up increased responsibilities around pupils with SEND?  

“Schools are a pivotal part of the SEND system, but they are not the whole system – they exist within a wider landscape including health and social care, local authorities, and specialist services. Years of neglect have left every component of this system starved of funding, resources and expertise. Without concerted action to address these structural problems, increased teacher training cannot be a solution – it is merely a sticking plaster.

“The government cannot risk short-changing teachers, pupils or their families when it comes to tackling the SEND crisis. Schools need more funding, more staff and more external support if they are to offer SEND pupils the world class education that every child in this country deserves.”