A group of people sitting around a table in a classroom or meeting room, listening to a man in a light blue shirt who appears to be leading the discussion.

SEND School Improvement

Whole Education’s SEND School Improvement programme supports over a thousand schools nationally to develop their provision for pupils with SEND. We work with both Multi Academy Trusts and Local Authorities to help leaders embed inclusive practice, share learning, and strengthen their provision.

A Whole Education for All
We believe in the importance of a whole education. The holistic development of children and young people is vital for all, and is certainly vital for pupils with SEND. We support and celebrate schools’ work as they deliver this whole education, developing the knowledge, skills and dispositions of their pupils to prepare them for life and work.

Why ‘SEND School Improvement’?
SEND is not one person’s business; in the most effective schools, it’s everyone’s business. By referring to SEND School Improvement, we’re focusing on whole-school approaches that engage all leaders and pervade through all elements of school life, so that pupils with SEND benefit from leadership decisions across the school – around curriculum, teaching and learning, co-curricular life, family engagement, pastoral support and more.

Leadership at the Heart of SEND School Improvement
Effective leadership is essential in developing high-quality provision for pupils with SEND. Our work supports leaders to establish and embed a strategic vision in relation to SEND, and to engage with local and national practitioners and experts. This helps them to better understand the leadership processes and practices that underpin effective provision. We don’t believe there is one ‘answer’ in this field, but believe passionately that effective networks focusing on SEND leadership can support every setting to move their provision forward for learners with SEND.

Whole Education’s Reach
Whole Education supports SEND School Improvement in over a thousand schools nationally. We have worked with (and continue to work with) close to 100 Multi Academy Trusts and over 15 Local Authorities, supporting schools to build their strategic capacity for SEND and to become part of strong, self-sustaining local networks.

Learn More
Whole Education runs two tailored programmes:

How we help you drive SEND School Improvement?

Throughout the project, we will use the Evaluate My School (EMS) platform to support SEND leaders to work alongside their School Leaders to effectively self evaluate provision in their schools across 7 key areas.

The key focus areas are:

  • Intent

  • Implementation

  • Impact

  • Working with children and families

  • Effective use of teaching assistants

  • Identification

  • Provision mapping

  • Impact

Screenshot of a SEND evaluation tool interface displaying the "Intent" focus area, where leaders assess strategic direction for learners with SEND, with options to navigate between various focus areas and evaluation stages.

School leaders and SENCos then use this self evaluation to write action plans which are put into practice, guided throughout by the expert Whole Education SEND network and an effective peer support model. 

High quality CPD Webinars and national networking groups, hosted by leading SEND experts, further support SEND leaders in embedding sustainable self improving systems into their schools in a way that is manageable, motivating and ultimately improves outcomes for SEND learners.

From our independent evaluation:

“The Whole Education 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”
“This evaluation shows that Whole Education does have solutions to many of the challenges that the sector is currently facing.”