The government has announced £200million of funding for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) training, which it says will be available to ‘all teaching staff’. The SEND code of practice will also be updated with an expectation that all staff in ‘every nursery, school and college’ should receive SEND and inclusion training.
Announcing the initiative, the Department for Education (DfE) said ‘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.’ While it is not yet clear what form the new training will take, or whether it will be completely free of charge for schools, the DfE says it will be developed by ‘experts’ and it is expected to incorporate both online and in-person learning. This will help teachers ‘deepen knowledge of how to adapt their teaching to meet a wide range of needs’, according to the DfE. The ‘comprehensive’ scheme will also ‘promote practical skills’, such as working effectively with parents, as well as build ‘awareness of additional needs amongst all pupils’.
One aim of the new training appears to be to provide more training for experienced teachers. The DfE suggests that, while initial teacher training (ITT) and national professional qualifications (NPQs) cover those entering the profession or moving in to leadership roles, there is ‘is a clear gap in support for those in-post looking to build their skills’, and that the new training package would ‘target this gap’.
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.
However Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, while welcoming the commitment to additional training, questioned whether the amount of money allocated would be ‘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…’. He said SEND training was ‘too important to be a one-off block of training’ and that, in order to meet the needs of pupils and the expectations of parents, 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.’
The latest funding for training follows the government’s announcement in December last year that it would spend £3billion creating around 50,000 more places for children with SEND in mainstream schools, saying that specialist places in mainstream should become ‘a core part of the local school offer in all parts of the country.’ At the time of that announcement, the NAHT union noted that ‘investment in buildings is only one part of the picture – it is just as important that the government now ensures there are sufficient teachers and leaders with the right level of specialist training to work with those children and young people.’ Responding to the latest announcement of training funding, NAHT general secretary Paul Whiteman said ‘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.’
The government is still expected to set out wider plans for reform of the SEND system, including how it will be funded, in a delayed white paper this spring.