Many of us will remember a time when specialist schools were equipped with outreach provision - an informal, early precursor to what might now be described as an “experts at hand” model.

These arrangements grew alongside the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice (2001), itself building on the Education Act 1996 and the very first Special Educational Needs Code of Practice (1994).

Outreach, often referred to as advisory or support services, was far less formalised and systematised than what the government is planning with its SEND reforms. Its reach and effectiveness depended heavily on local authority structures and the capacity of individual schools.

Outward-facing SEND support

At that time, many special schools operated with a degree of staffing capacity that enabled them to look outwards.

This allowed experienced practitioners to train wider staff teams and support mainstream colleagues with strategies around communication, behaviour and pedagogy.

It was a model rooted in expertise and professional generosity, but also one made possible by a level of resourcing that now feels distant.

It is difficult, today, to imagine schools being able to “overstaff” in any area - let alone beyond their own gates. This is not due to a lack of will; it’s simply a question of capacity and affordability.

A system that can scale

Funding models and banding systems have tightened, and resources are spread ever more thinly.

It is also important to recognise that the outreach model of the past was inherently limited: rationed, informal and advisory in nature. It was not designed as a scalable mechanism for building long-term system capacity.

A similar tension emerged more recently through the specialist leader of education and national leader of education models.

While the principle of school-to-school support was sound, the structural reality was more complex.

System leaders were not, in practice, readily “available” within existing frameworks, and the capacity to support others often came at a cost to their own institutions. The ambition was right, but sustainability remained elusive.

This tension has persisted, often quietly, as successive initiatives, whether led by local authorities or the Department for Education, have promised transformation but struggled to endure.

The potential of ‘experts at hand’

Now, as we look at the system in 2025-26, the landscape has shifted. Multi-academy trusts are firmly embedded, and with them comes the potential for more coherent, structured collaboration - collaboration being the key here.

The DfE’s introduction of Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence (RISE) support marks a notable attempt to fund and commission sustained support for “stuck” schools. While not without its imperfections, it represents one of the more credible attempts in recent years to align funding with capacity.

There needs to be close monitoring of the RISE programme to make sure that resources are not misused or inappropriately focused (a possible unintended consequence).

This matters because sustainable support must be designed to build capacity, not dependency.

An “experts at hand” model, properly funded and structured, perhaps through mechanisms similar to RISE, offers a way forward.

By ring-fencing resources, it becomes possible to plan capacity, tailor support and move beyond piecemeal intervention. Crucially, it creates the conditions for meaningful, long-term improvement.

The role of MATs

Within this model, MATs with particular areas of expertise could design and deliver immersive programmes of support.

These would go beyond advice, focusing instead on instructional coaching, modelling and mentoring - working alongside teachers and leaders in classrooms and schools. This is how genuine SEND capacity is developed: not through sporadic input, but through sustained, embedded practice.

Through long-term collaborative arrangements where specialist provisions form professional partnerships with mainstream schools, working “with” them to deliver sustainable improvement and enhancement - not just providing short-term improvement and then never being seen again because the money has run out.

If we are serious about inclusion, we must be equally serious about how we resource and structure the support that underpins it.

Inclusion is not a checklist. It is a culture - and cultures are built through deliberate, sustained investment in people and practice.

Sabrina Hobbs is vice chair of Headteachers’ Roundtable and an executive trust leader

Dave Whitaker is a founding member of the Headteachers’ Roundtable and chief education officer at Wellspring Academy Trust