£200 million to be spent on teacher Send training in bid to create a ‘truly inclusive education system’
The government will invest £200 million in comprehensive training for all teachers who support students with special educational needs and disabilities (Submit).
This significant funding, allocated during the current parliament, will develop new courses for teachers.
These programs aim to equip educators to adapt teaching methods to a variety of needs, including speech and language needs or visual impairments.
The Department for Education (DfE) has also announced a new expectation for all staff in schools, colleges and nurseries to receive Send training.
Education Minister Bridget Phillipson said: “Every child, wherever they live and whatever their needs, should have the opportunity to attend a local school where they can achieve and thrive.
“That’s why we’re equipping our staff at all stages of education with more training than ever before on Submission and inclusion, helping us realize our vision of a truly inclusive education system.
“This is an important part of our mission to reform the Referral system so that schools can move children from forgotten to included and give parents confidence that the right support will be there at every stage of their child’s education.”
Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said investment in Send education was “too significant to be a one-off education bloc”.
“It remains to be seen whether this investment is sufficient to provide the depth and quality of education needed on a large scale in a system with nearly half a million teachers,” he said.
“The expectation that all staff in every nursery, school and college receive training in Submission and attendance is good in principle, but it is a huge undertaking and will clearly take time to achieve in practice.”
The new expectation for teachers to receive training on Send will be determined in the Send practice principles.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT school leaders union, welcomed the investment in Send education but said “education alone will not be enough”.
“Both mainstream and special schools need better access to specialist staff and adequate funding,” he added.
“Students with additional needs often require additional adult support and schools need to have adequate resources to provide this.
“Investments made under the previous government have failed to keep up with growing demand, leaving families at the mercy of local government’s complex postcode lottery, a situation exacerbated by the lack of availability of specialists such as educational psychologists and speech and language therapists in some areas.
“It is vital that the government rebuilds support services that were destroyed under previous administrations.”
The government is expected to set out Send reforms in the delayed Schools White Paper in the spring.
In December the DfE announced £3bn of funding would be used to create around 50,000 new school places for children from Send.
Some of this money will go towards creating places for children from Send in local mainstream schools across the country, making them less likely to have to travel far for their education.
