Illustration of interconnected gears with grid lines and arrows, symbolizing teamwork and mechanical engineering.

Greater than the sum of its parts:
developing sustainable SEND school improvement systems across a locality

Cover of an evaluation report titled "Greater than the sum of its parts: developing sustainable SEND school improvement systems across a locality" by Whole Education, featuring a gear design and authored by Professor Philip Garner.

Published on 24th April 2025.

Whole Education runs a tried and tested, bespoke SEND School Improvement programme that enhances Local Authorities and Multi Academy Trusts’ knowledge and capacity to sustainably meet the needs of children with SEND across all schools. We are delighted to publish this independent evaluation of the programme, conducted by Professor Philip Garner, which validates our approach and sheds light on how it leads to impact.

The evaluation focussed on understanding whether our programme succeeds in developing networks of confident and capable leaders of SEND, as well as how our work leads to impact. 

The evaluation unpicks how the structure, language and framework of the programme, alongside Whole Education’s networked approach to leadership development, supports leaders of SEND in driving improvement. 

The evaluation’s conclusion is clear:

“Whole Education’s SEND School Improvement Programme is well-positioned to build the capacity and capability of leaders of SEND at both school and system level (across MATs and LAs) to meet complex and changing SEND needs in mainstream schools.”