While this sounds promising, the reality of the proposed reforms appears to overlook the unique needs of SEND pupils, and risks sidelining the very children they aim to support.
Having worked across 100 schools supporting children with SEND, it's clear to me that there are three key areas where the new Ofsted report appears to have misrepresented SEND schools and their pupils.
Attendance: a one-size-fits-all approach misses the mark
Attendance is one of the proposed standalone metrics for school performance. While it may be indicative of performance in mainstream schools, it would not be so in specialist settings as it does not take into account the challenges that pupils may face. For children and young people struggling with mental health challenges or those with social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs, regular attendance can be difficult.
Specialist schools provide highly tailored support for pupils with unique needs - whether related to health, anxiety or behavioural issues. Penalising these schools on attendance rates, opposes the flexibility needed to support pupils whose overall progress isn’t linear.
While attendance rates for SEND schools may look low compared to national averages, from a baseline of zero, a 65% attendance rate, reflects significant progress, especially for those pupils previously absent from education. Therefore, a focus on attendance, risks undermining the crucial, holistic support SEND schools provide to address the needs of their pupils.
Achievement: what does success look like for SEND pupils?
SEND schools are designed to provide personalised curriculums to meet the diverse needs of their pupils - focussing not just on academic achievement but on life skills, social integration and emotional development. As the majority of specialist settings don’t follow the national curriculum, the proposed focus on ‘achievement’ as a standalone metric is particularly problematic.
How will achievement be defined and measured in these specialist settings? If achievement is measured solely by traditional academic outcomes, the reports will fail to capture the broader progress that SEND pupils make. Achievement for pupils with SEND are far broader, for example, it may be developing the ability to communicate effectively; gaining greater independence in everyday life; or improving self-regulation. Outcomes that are just as important, if not more so than passing exams.
For the proposed reforms to be meaningful, they must provide an inclusive definition of achievement that reflects the diverse goals of SEND education, beyond standardised testing and traditional academic measures.
Inclusion: the foundation of specialist schools
The reforms place a heavy emphasis on mainstream inclusion, and once again appear to overlook the vital role of specialist provision. While mainstream schools are working towards integrating more pupils with SEND and becoming more inclusive; special schools are built around the principle of inclusivity, with an entire cohort of pupils who require more tailored support. The current focus fails to recognise that special schools are inherently inclusive ‘by design’ and not just in their approach - a distinction that should be recognised in the reforms, to ensure a more balanced and fair representation of all educational settings.
A call for a more holistic approach
Any commitment to placing SEND students at the heart of proposed reforms must take into account the specific needs and realities of special education. SEND schools require a more holistic, nuanced approach to inspections – one that recognises the unique challenges, strengths and diverse ways in which pupils progress. Only by doing so can we ensure that the reforms are truly effective in supporting some of the most vulnerable children in our education system.
