Preparing for SEND Reform: Building an inclusive system

Summary

SEND consultant and author Natalie Packer reflects on what the reforms mean in practice, what schools should prioritise now, and why successful change will depend on inclusion becoming part of everybody’s day-to-day work.

At SEND Tutoring, we know that parents want clarity, honesty and practical guidance. They want to understand what will actually change, what will stay the same, and how schools are preparing behind the scenes. They also want reassurance that their child’s needs won’t be overlooked during this transition.

To help shed light on these questions, we’re sharing a detailed Q&A with SEND consultant and author Natalie Packer, whose work with schools, trusts and local authorities gives her a unique perspective on what the reforms mean in practice. Her insights are grounded, realistic and refreshingly focused on what matters most: children’s lived experience in school.

Before diving into the interview, it’s worth remembering one thing:

SEND reform is not just about new terminology or funding streams, it’s about building a system where every child feels they belong.

The Real Work Is Happening Inside Schools

While national headlines focus on funding models and timelines, the real transformation is happening quietly inside classrooms, staff meetings and leadership discussions. Schools are reviewing how they identify needs, how they involve families, and how consistent their teaching approaches are.

The reforms have arrived at a time when many families feel exhausted by the system. Long waits for assessment, inconsistent provision, and the emotional labour of advocating for their child have taken a toll. Yet within schools, there is a genuine opportunity to rebuild trust, not through promises of future change, but through visible action now.

Some schools are already doing this. They’re strengthening their universal offer, reviewing their curriculum through an accessibility lens, and involving parents earlier in conversations about need. They’re using the reforms as a prompt to ask: Are we doing what we say we value? And crucially: Do families feel that?

Others are still finding their footing, unsure how much to change before national guidance is finalised. That uncertainty is understandable, but it doesn’t have to stall progress. As Natalie Packer reminds us, the fundamentals of good SEND practice are not new. They’re timeless: know your pupils, listen to families, remove barriers, and build staff expertise.

In this Q&A, Natalie acknowledges the pressures schools face, the misconceptions circulating, and the real challenges ahead. But she also highlights the opportunities: stronger inclusion, earlier support, and a system designed around belonging rather than bureaucracy.

Below, you’ll find a thoughtful, realistic look at what’s changing, what isn’t, and what schools should be doing right now.

Q&A with SEND Consultant and Author Natalie Packer

For readers who may not know your work, could you explain a bit about yourself and how you support schools to strengthen their SEND provision? 

“I am an independent education consultant specialising in special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). I work with schools, multi-academy trusts and local authorities to help them develop, evaluate and sustain inclusive provision. This might involve carrying out a SEND review, supporting leaders to shape a whole-school or trust-wide strategy, training staff, strengthening the role of the SENCO, or helping a school develop specialist or targeted provision. 

I am also the author of several books; The Perfect SENCO, The Teacher’s Guide to SEN and Beyond Boundaries: Leading Great SEND Provision Across a Trust. Across all of my work, the starting point is the same: strong SEND provision is not something which is ‘bolted on’ to the rest of the school; It is integral to everything that happens there. 

I spend a great deal of time helping leaders look beyond whether the right paperwork is in place. Paperwork matters, of course, but the more important questions are: Are barriers identified early? Can teachers respond confidently? Is specialist expertise used well? And are families genuinely involved in decisions about their child? Do pupils feel that they belong?”

As schools begin preparing for the SEND reforms, what are the most significant changes you’re seeing them put in place?

“The biggest change is a shift from reacting to individual difficulties towards planning proactively for the needs a school can reasonably predict. The government’s direction of travel is towards a system that is more “inclusive by design”, with a stronger universal offer in every mainstream setting, followed by targeted—including Targeted Plus—and specialist layers of support where these are needed. 

That is prompting many schools to take a more strategic look at their whole provision. Leaders are reviewing their pupil profile, patterns in attendance, behaviour and exclusions, the accessibility of the curriculum and environment, and the consistency of classroom practice. Rather than immediately asking, “What additional intervention can we give this pupil?”, they are increasingly asking, “What barrier is this pupil experiencing, and what could we change in our everyday provision?” 

There is also much greater attention on inclusion strategies. In England, schools receiving the Inclusive Mainstream Fund must publish an inclusion strategy on their website by 31 December 2026. The most thoughtful schools are treating this as a genuine school-improvement process, not simply another document to produce. They are bringing together their core funding, notional SEN budget and new funding to improve teaching, environments and early support across the school.”

What do you think schools should be prioritising now to ensure they’re ready for the changes ahead?

“My advice is not to wait for every detail of the future system to be finalised. Schools can make meaningful progress now by concentrating on the areas that will remain important whatever happens next. 

First, leaders need an accurate understanding of need. This means looking beyond the number of pupils on the SEN register and bringing together a wider range of information: pupil and parent views, attainment and progress, attendance, suspensions, part-time timetables, referrals, reasonable adjustments and patterns of unmet need. 

Second, schools should strengthen their universal offer. The Education Endowment Foundation’s Guide to Inclusive Teaching provides a helpful two-part model: strong universal approaches for all pupils, alongside carefully selected adaptations and additional support. This is useful because it avoids two unhelpful extremes—the belief that good teaching alone will meet every need, and the belief that inclusion depends mainly on separate interventions. 

Third, schools should invest in staff knowledge and implementation. One-off training rarely changes classroom practice by itself. Staff need a shared language, practical strategies, opportunities to apply them, coaching and feedback, and leaders who check whether agreed approaches are making a difference. 

Finally, schools should review how they involve parents and pupils. Reform should not become something done to families. It needs to be shaped with them.”

How are the reforms influencing the way schools approach inclusive practice and support for pupils with SEND? 

“At their best, the reforms are encouraging schools to see inclusion as a whole-school design principle rather than a response triggered only when a pupil receives a diagnosis or statutory plan. That creates a stronger focus on earlier identification, reasonable adjustments, adaptive teaching, accessible environments and support that can begin without waiting for a lengthy process. 

This matters to parents because a child’s needs do not become real only when a label or document arrives. If a pupil is struggling to understand instructions, regulate emotions, communicate, attend regularly or feel safe in school, the response should begin with what adults can learn and change now. 

However, early and universal support must not be interpreted as “the same provision for everyone”. Inclusion means retaining high expectations while responding intelligently to difference. Some pupils will need short-term small-group tuition or one-to-one support; others will require sustained specialist input, personalised approaches or provision specified through an education, health and care plan (EHCP). Effective schools see these elements as connected rather than competing. 

It is also important to be clear that current legal duties remain in place during the transition. The government has stated that no changes to the support provided through EHCPs will begin before September 2030. Schools must continue to identify and meet needs and deliver existing statutory provision while preparing thoughtfully for what may follow.”

What role do school leaders play in ensuring these changes are implemented effectively? 

“Leaders are pivotal because inclusion is created—or constrained—by the decisions they make. Timetables, staffing, curriculum choices, behaviour policies, professional development, budgets and accountability systems all influence whether pupils with SEND can participate and succeed. 

The headteacher and senior team need to establish a clear, shared vision for inclusion and connect it to the school’s wider priorities. It should not sit in a separate SEND plan known only to the SENCO. Governors and trustees also need to ask searching questions about outcomes, participation, exclusions, attendance, parental confidence and the impact of spending, rather than relying only on the size of the SEN register or the existence of policies. 

Leaders also create the conditions for implementation. They need to protect time for the SENCO to work strategically, make professional development manageable, ensure staff have access to expertise, and avoid launching too many disconnected initiatives. Most importantly, they need to follow through. A strategy becomes meaningful when leaders revisit it, look for changes in practice and listen to pupils, families and staff about whether it is working.” 

Are there any common challenges or misconceptions you’re seeing as schools begin to adapt to the reforms? 

“One misconception is that schools need to redesign everything immediately. They do not. The reforms are being phased, and some important details are still subject to consultation and further development. Schools need to understand the direction of travel while avoiding premature changes that may have to be undone. 

A second misconception is that a stronger universal offer will remove the need for individualised or specialist provision. It will not. High-quality inclusive teaching should reduce avoidable barriers and enable support to begin earlier, but it cannot replace specialist assessment, therapy, tailored interventions or statutory provision where these are required. 

There is also a risk that the inclusion strategy becomes a funding return form or a polished document that is disconnected from daily practice. Its value lies in the thinking behind it: understanding the cohort, choosing evidence-informed priorities, allocating resources coherently and evaluating impact. 

The practical challenges are significant too. Schools are managing workforce pressures, limited specialist capacity, increasing complexity of need and understandable anxiety among parents about future entitlements. Leaders should be honest about these pressures. Building trust does not require pretending to have every answer; it requires communicating clearly, acting consistently and involving people in decisions.”

How can schools ensure that SEND remains everyone’s responsibility, rather than being led solely by the SENCO?

“The phrase “SEND is everyone’s responsibility” is easy to say; the test is whether school systems make it true. Teachers remain responsible and accountable for the progress and development of the pupils they teach. The SENCO’s role is to influence, coordinate, advise and build capacity—not to take ownership of every pupil with SEND away from class teachers. 

Schools can reinforce this by including inclusive practice in induction, professional development, curriculum planning, lesson visits and appraisal conversations. Department and phase leaders should discuss pupils with SEND as part of their normal review of teaching and outcomes. Support staff should be deployed to promote learning and independence, with teachers retaining responsibility for planning and assessment. 

Language matters as well. Referring to pupils as “the SENCO’s pupils” subtly relocates responsibility. A more useful question is: “What do we, as a team, need to understand or change so that this pupil can participate and learn?” 

The strongest SENCOs are not those who try to ‘fix’ everything. They help create a school in which more people know what to notice, what to try, when to seek advice and how to evaluate whether support is working.”

What practical steps can schools take to strengthen relationships with parents and carers during this period of change?

“Start by communicating what is known, what is proposed and what has not yet been decided. Schools should reassure families that existing legal duties remain in force and explain any local changes in understandable language. 

Make communication two-way and regular, rather than contacting families mainly when something has gone wrong. Ask parents what helps their child, what they are noticing at home, what progress matters most to them and how they would prefer to communicate. Then show how their contribution has influenced the plan for their child. 

At a strategic level, schools can involve parents in reviewing their universal offer and inclusion strategy. A small parent reference group, carefully designed survey or listening session can reveal barriers that data alone will not show. Crucially, schools should report back: “You told us; this is what we are doing.” That final step builds confidence that engagement is genuine.”

If you could give one or two pieces of key advice to school leaders preparing for the future of SEND provision, what would it be? 

“Do not treat SEND reform as a future compliance exercise; use it as an opportunity to improve pupils’ experience now. 

There will be new terminology, funding arrangements and processes to understand, but the heart of the work is not new. It is about knowing your pupils, listening to families, removing barriers, building staff expertise and ensuring the right support is available at the right time. 

The question I would encourage every leadership team to keep asking is: “If we say that every pupil belongs here, what would we expect to see, hear and experience across this school—and what needs to change to make that true?” 

That question keeps reform grounded in the lives of children and young people. Ultimately, that is where its success will be judged.”

What Natalie’s Insights Mean for Families

Natalie’s reflections offer something parents rarely get during periods of reform: clarity. She cuts through the noise and reminds us that while the system is evolving, the core responsibilities of schools remain unchanged. Your child’s needs do not become “real” only when a label arrives. Support should begin when a barrier appears, not when paperwork catches up.

For families, this means you should expect earlier conversations, more consistent classroom practice, and a stronger focus on reasonable adjustments. You should also expect schools to involve you more meaningfully, not just when something goes wrong. Reform is not a reason to pause support; it’s a reason to strengthen it.

SEND reform is often discussed in technical language such as funding streams, statutory processes, national standards. But for families, the heart of the matter is emotional. It’s about trust. It’s about feeling heard. It’s about knowing your child is understood not as a category, but as a person.

Natalie’s emphasis on communication, honesty and shared responsibility speaks directly to this. Schools don’t need to pretend they have every answer. They need to show families that they are thinking carefully, acting consistently and listening closely. That’s how confidence is built, not through perfection, but through transparency.

How SEND Tutoring Supports Children Through Transition

At SEND Tutoring, our work sits alongside schools to make sure children feel supported, confident and understood, regardless of what the national system is doing. We focus on the child’s lived experience: how they learn, how they communicate, how they regulate, and what helps them feel safe and capable.

We collaborate with schools so tutoring complements classroom practice rather than competing with it. We help children build independence, not dependence, and we support families to navigate the system with clarity and confidence, offering guidance that is practical and accessible. 

This is also a moment where families benefit from hearing directly from trusted experts. If you’d like to explore more of Natalie Packer’s work, including her books, consultancy and resources for schools, you can find her here:

• Website: www.nataliepacker.co.uk  

• LinkedIn

Her insights continue to shape how schools prepare for reform, and her guidance is invaluable for families wanting to understand the bigger picture.

SEND reform may be slow, but your child’s needs are immediate. Our role is to meet them now.

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Ella Jones

If you’re looking for support for a child or young person with special educational needs or a disability, book a free call with us today and find out how we can help.