How professional development supports inclusion in school trusts
The inclusion of students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is an ongoing challenge for many schools and multi-academy trusts (MATs).
In February this year, the Department for Education (DfE) published both a new schools White Paper and a consultation document on proposed SEND reforms, demonstrating the importance of improving inclusion in schools today.
For our recent report, ‘Grow your own: Best practice for developing teaching talent in school trusts’, we surveyed trusts across England and conducted in-depth interviews with MAT leaders.
Ensuring teachers are well-trained in supporting pupils with SEND is a key priority for trusts in both mainstream and specialist schools.
As well as teachers, staff members such as teaching assistants (TAs) have expertise that is essential in supporting all students in the classroom and have specific training requirements as a result.
Teacher training and professional development enable schools to embed inclusive practice at a classroom, school and trust level. But how can trusts get there, and what challenges do they face on the way?
What do the SEND reforms mean for teacher training and development?
The DfE plans to move to a new SEND system from 2029, with every student with SEND receiving a statutory individual support plan that's either targeted, targeted plus or specialist based on their needs.
Education, health and care plans (EHCPs) will only be given to students who need specialist provision – the DfE is currently developing seven of these specialist pathways, which will inform what support an EHCP entitles a child to.
Interestingly, reforms also include an extra £200 million in funding for new teacher development training in inclusion.
This funding is focused on improving universal inclusion offers in mainstream schools, though the DfE has said schools will also be able to spend it on the development of targeted support for those who need it. Their guidance states:
“Schools will be expected to use their funding to understand the needs of their cohort and strategically plan to implement whole-school approaches to inclusion that will remove commonly occurring and predictable barriers to learning for all pupils”.
Essentially, it seems this funding aims to build a stronger foundation for inclusive mainstream systems, going hand-in-hand with a reduced number of EHCPs to shift the focus from specialist, targeted support to classrooms that are better equipped to support a range of needs with one universal offer.
Professional development and inclusion: the challenge
Our report explored professional development in two forms: teacher training, such as initial teacher training (ITT) for trainee teachers, and continuing professional development (CPD) for in-post teachers.
Trusts reported including specialist coverage such as for SEND as a top challenge for both CPD and teacher training. For CPD it was in the top four challenges, and for teacher training it was in the top three.
This makes it clear that while professional development presents an opportunity to improve inclusion, the first challenge is ensuring inclusion is a part of learning offers in the first place.
Beyond that, a deeper challenge is raised here in not only ensuring inclusion is part of a learning offer, but also in considering how it is included.
For example, is it better to deliver specific, bespoke training that focuses on SEND by itself, or should trusts simply embed inclusion in their training?
It's likely that schools will want a mix of both to ensure their staff have a strong foundational understanding of inclusion and that they keep up to date with best practice.
This is why inclusion needs to be a part of foundational training such as ITT, but it should also be a focus of CPD as the SEND landscape will continue to evolve once teachers are qualified.
Similarly, training must be intentional – that is, the context and staff member’s role should be considered. For example, a TA who provides one-to-one support will likely need specialist training compared to a classroom teacher.
What trusts told us
Trusts recognised inclusion as fundamental to success, not merely a nice-to-have. As such, embedding inclusion at every level of professional development design is the best way to support teachers to create inclusive classrooms.
We also found a recognition that the best route to inclusion is simply with strong teaching – and that this starts with new teachers. This means embedding inclusion in teacher training such as ITT is key to building inclusive classrooms. As one trust leader explained it:
“We just want good, inclusive teachers across the board and people who would be adept at working in either [a mainstream or specialist] setting with whatever level of need is in front of them.”
Essentially, the trusts we spoke to acknowledge that real inclusion comes from embedding inclusive practice at every stage, and that it can’t simply be a bolt-on to a professional development offer.
Professional development and inclusion in practice
We've established why inclusion is key to professional development in theory. But how can trusts implement this in practice? Here are our key takeaways:
Integrate inclusion into all training content
As we’ve established, inclusion can’t be reduced to a single module in an ITT course or a one-off CPD lesson: it should be embedded into all learning content.
This is important in ensuring teachers see inclusion as a foundational part of their practice – and a central framework to their learning – rather than as one branch of many or one lens they can learn through.
It’s exactly the approach we take at Tes Institute to all our courses, including ITT.
Our vision for inclusion is to ensure that every trainee teacher is equipped with the knowledge and practice to break down any potential barriers to participation, belonging, opportunity and learning.
This inclusion thread equips teachers to:
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Know: identify pupils with potential barriers to participation, belonging, opportunity and learning
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Understand: understand pupils’ identified potential barriers to participation, belonging, opportunity and learning while ensuring that you have high expectations of all pupils irrespective of their starting points
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Adapt: implement adaptive and responsive teaching where necessary
Provide flexible, accessible delivery to model inclusive practice
Inclusion in schools and trusts so often focuses on students – but true inclusion starts higher up, and MAT and school leaders should model the behaviour they expect from their teachers.
One way of doing this is by ensuring professional development itself is delivered in a way that’s flexible and accessible.
This is not only important for making learning inclusive for teachers, but flexibility is also key in enabling teachers to learn and develop around busy teacher schedules.
At Tes Institute, we model this in the principles that underline our course design and content.
We call it 'inclusion at the core': inclusion isn’t a separate strand, it's embedded throughout. Our courses are designed to be accessible, representative and effective for diverse learners, educators and contexts from the start.
Regularly review SEND confidence and training coverage
Policy and best practice for SEND inclusion are constantly evolving – even this year, the DfE has proposed significant changes.
As such, it’s essential for trusts to adapt with the changing landscape by regularly reviewing their learning offer for both in-post and trainee teachers – and making updates where necessary.
Similarly, reviewing your teachers’ confidence in including all students is a great way to monitor the success of professional learning in your trust: a lack of confidence might indicate where learning is outdated or missing.
Ensuring teachers are confident in inclusion has several benefits:
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It provides a more inclusive learning environment for students, improving outcomes
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Confidence in the classroom means better teacher wellbeing, which has a wealth of benefits in itself
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Teacher confidence reflects a comprehensive CPD offer – a strong professional development offer is closely tied to improved staff retention in a trust
Specialist settings
While inclusive practice is essential regardless, a level of inclusion in the classroom is also key to meeting statutory requirements, such as those laid out in the SEND code of practice.
It’s important for trusts to recognise that specialist settings have more mandatory training requirements than mainstream schools – and to ensure this is understood when allocating staff in these settings with time for training and development.
Inclusive trusts are made up of inclusive classrooms
Building an inclusive trust starts at the classroom level – and that means starting with teachers.
Our ‘Grow your own’ report is a tool that supports ambitious trusts to take action and secure their futures through staff development. The report is based on insights from trusts across England and shares practical, actionable guidance.
Read the free report now to explore our findings in depth and start building a trust where everyone can thrive.