SEND in an English school: £200m for teacher training — and how a parent gets support for their child

On 24–25 September the Department for Education published the first free training materials for schools and post-16 settings in England on teaching children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). They were developed by Ambition Institute, they build on the Education Endowment Foundation’s inclusive teaching guidance, and they sit on GOV.UK as two collections: one for mainstream schools, one for post-16 settings.

This is the first step of a £200 million investment in teacher training. But there is a caveat that the press release passes over quickly: schools do not have to use the materials. So for a parent the news is not that everything changes tomorrow — it is that you now have a concrete thing to ask your school about. Below: the announcement itself, and the legal deadlines the school and the council must meet regardless.

What exactly was published?

Two sets of free in-house training materials: SEND and inclusion training for mainstream schools and an equivalent package for post-16 settings. Each contains editable slides, facilitator guidance, evidence summaries, discussion activities, templates for planning and measuring professional development, and case studies. A session takes about an hour, is delivered by an in-house facilitator, and can be run standalone or combined into a training day.

The content is practical rather than theoretical: breaking instructions into digestible steps, pre-teaching specialist vocabulary, carving out time for pupils to practise it. For nurseries and early years settings there is separate online training from the charity Dingley’s Promise — visual timetables to help children with transitions between activities, and adapting the environment to cut unnecessary noise that gets in the way of communication and emotional regulation.

Does a school have to use them?

No. The official description says the government encourages schools to deliver the training, but it is not mandatory. So “have you looked at the new DfE inclusive teaching materials?” is a fair question to put to a teacher or the SENCO — but a school that says no is not breaking any rule.

What comes next, and when?

According to DfE, further materials are due in January and April 2027. Fully funded training courses for teachers, leaders and support staff are promised from September 2027. You can register on the collection page for updates as new modules are added.

Why was this needed?

The figures in the release: one in three teachers in a recent survey said they want more training on supporting children with SEND; a quarter of surveyed teaching assistants said a lack of training was a barrier to supporting these pupils properly. And the number that drives the whole thing: young people with SEND are around 80% more likely to be NEET (not in education, employment or training) than average. Minister for School Standards Georgia Gould talks about ending a “postcode lottery” that has left families fighting for support.

What is SEND, and what is SEN support?

SEND covers anything that makes learning harder for a child than for their peers. GOV.UK lists the areas: behaviour or the ability to socialise, reading and writing (for example with dyslexia), understanding, concentration (for example with ADHD), and physical ability.

The first tier of help is SEN support — what the school or college arranges itself: speech therapy, working in a smaller group, help from a teacher or assistant, a special learning programme, observation in class and at break, support with eating, getting around school safely or using the toilet. No formal document is needed for this.

Who do you talk to first?

The SENCO — the special educational needs co-ordinator, who exists in every school and nursery. If your child is not in a school or nursery, contact your local council. Free independent advice comes from your local Information, Advice and Support (IAS) Service.

For children under 5, SEN support includes a written progress check at age 2, a health visitor check at 2 to 3, a written assessment in the summer term of the first year of primary school, and reasonable adjustments for disabled children. If your child does not attend a nursery or childminder, speak to a doctor or health adviser.

How is an EHC plan different from school support?

An EHC plan (education, health and care plan) is a formal document for children and young people up to 25 who need more support than the school can provide. It identifies educational, health and social needs and sets out the support for each. An EHC assessment can be requested from the local authority by a parent, by the young person themselves if they are 16 to 25, and by anyone else who thinks it necessary — doctors, health visitors, teachers, family friends.

You may be asked for reports from the school, nursery or childminder, doctors’ assessments, and a letter from you about your child’s needs.

How long does a decision take?

The statutory deadlines are worth writing down:

— 16 weeks from the request: the council must tell you whether an EHC plan will be made at all;
— 20 weeks from the date it received the request for the assessment: the council must give you the final EHC plan;
— at least 15 days to comment on the draft plan. That is also the window in which you ask for a specialist school or specialist college.

What is a personal budget?

If your child has an EHC plan, or the council has agreed one is needed, you may be able to get a personal budget and have a say in how the money is spent. Three routes: direct payments into your account (you buy and manage services yourself); the council or school holds the money but you decide (“notional”); or a third party manages it for you. You can combine all three.

The council said no — what then?

You can challenge a refusal to carry out an assessment, a refusal to make a plan, the educational content of the plan (sections B, F and I), the school named in it, and a decision that the plan is no longer needed.

The order is: mediation first — in most cases you must at least consider it before going to the tribunal. One exception: if the appeal is only about which school or institution is named in section I, mediation is not required. Even if you do not want mediation, you still have to contact the mediation service to get a mediation certificate; without it the tribunal will ask you to explain why.

Then the SEND Tribunal. The deadline: the tribunal must receive your appeal within 2 months of the date on the council’s decision letter or one month from the date of the mediation certificate — whichever is later. You can appeal online; by post or email it is form SEND35, or SEND35A if you are appealing a refusal to carry out an assessment. The tribunal responds within 25 working days; the council then has 30 working days to respond. Tribunal phone: 0300 303 5857, Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm. Forms SEND7 and SEND8 change or withdraw an appeal before the hearing.

Is weak English a special educational need?

No — and this matters for families who have recently arrived. The statutory SEND Code of Practice states it plainly: difficulties related solely to limitations in English as an additional language are not SEN (paragraph 6.24 for schools, 5.30 for the early years). The Code requires “particular care” when assessing these children: the school has to work out whether the lack of progress comes from command of English or from SEN.

It cuts both ways. A child who simply has not learned English yet should not be put on the SEN register for that reason. Equally, genuine difficulties must not be written off as “they only just arrived” — that is exactly how real needs go unsupported for years.

Where can you get free help?

— IPSEA (Independent Parental Special Education Advice) advice line: 0800 018 4016, Monday to Thursday 10am–4pm and 7pm–9pm, Friday 1pm–4pm.
— The IAS Services network — your council’s local information and support service.
— Council for Disabled Children.
— Look for the Local Offer section on your council’s website: it lists everything available in your area.
— If the council is missing its deadlines, check whether a complaint to the ombudsman applies — a breach of the 16 and 20 week rules is exactly that kind of case.

What else is worth reading?

If you are still placing a child in school, the application deadlines are close: secondary school by 31 October 2026, primary school by 15 January 2027. It is also worth checking free school meals and free childcare hours, and, when choosing a school, how to read rankings and Ofsted reports.