DfE sets out £800m SEND teacher development contracts

The Department for Education is to launch a tendering process that could be worth up to £800 million for special educational needs and inclusion staff training in schools and colleges.

The government is seeking providers for a training framework expected to run for four years, which could be extended for a further two years.

The plan for spending on CPD comes alongside major reforms of special education provision, which aim to make mainstream schools more inclusive for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.

SEND training for all teachers

The DfE has published a notice setting out its plan this week and expects to launch the procurement tendering process next month, with a view to awarding the potential contracts by March 2027.

The government has said the training framework could include “multiple lots” to address different audiences, including teachers and leaders in both schools and further education, school teaching assistants and further education support staff.

It may include: the design and development of national SEND CPD programmes; training delivery; the design and development of learning resources and material; and digital learning.

The notice says the contracts are expected to have a maximum value of £800 million, subject to Spending Review decisions.

The framework is intended to support the delivery of a £200 million investment in SEND teacher training announced in January.

The government said at the time that it was setting a new expectation that all teachers in schools should receive training on SEND and inclusion.

The DfE announced at the start of the year that it is to introduce this requirement to the SEND code of practice and would be spending £200 million on new training courses.

The government has also announced plans for wide-ranging SEND reforms aimed at making mainstream schools more inclusive.

These include an expectation that all secondary schools run an inclusion base; the creation of a three-tier system of support for pupils with SEND; an overhaul of education, health and care plans; and a plan for new national inclusion standards that schools will be expected to follow.

The government is also asking councils to recruit a bank of “experts at hand” to support schools, such as educational psychologists, occupational therapists and speech and language therapists.