More school and trust leaders have been added to an expert group advising the Department for Education on how the system can become more inclusive.

The SEND Inclusion in Education Expert Group, which was set up last year and is led by Tom Rees, the CEO of Ormiston Academies Trust, will also now look at how Ofsted and curriculum reforms will affect inclusion.

The group was set up to advise ministers on “how to improve mainstream education outcomes and experiences for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities” (SEND).

New members include Matthew Evans, CEO of The Athelstan Trust; Simon Knight, co-headteacher of Frank Wise School, a special school in Oxfordshire; and Mark Vickers, CEO of Olive Academies, which runs alternative provision settings.

Mr Vickers also works as an external adviser on inclusion for Ofsted.

New DfE advisers on inclusion

Two original members of the group are no longer listed: Andrew O’Neill, headteacher of All Saints Catholic College, in London, who was seconded to a school leader adviser role in the DfE earlier this year; and Annamarie Hassall, chief executive of the charity Nasen.

Under the group’s initial terms of reference, the roles were to commence from November 2024 and last for up to eight months. “The duration may be subject to change following ministerial decisions,” the document states.

Updated terms of reference say that the expert adviser roles will last up to March 2026.

The group will now consider “how reforms focused on improving inclusion will interact with wider system reforms including, but not limited to, the curriculum and assessment review and reforms to Ofsted and accountability”.

It will also provide advice and challenge on specific areas of policy. This includes classroom practice and culture; improving identification of children with SEND in mainstream settings; additional support for children with SEND in mainstream settings; workforce capability and expertise; and “enabling conditions and incentives”.

The DfE is expected to announce plans for SEND reform in White Paper later this year. Ministers have already indicated that the government wants to have more pupils with additional needs educated in mainstream schools.

In July it was announced that the advisory group’s work was being extended.

Mr Rees said: ”I’m pleased that the work expert advisory group has been extended, and that we’ve expanded the group’s membership to include representation from early years, further education and alternative provision settings, so that we are hearing those voices around the table too.

“Inclusion is about all children - schools and groups of schools that serve every child in their community. It’s about removing barriers wherever they exist to the presence, participation and learning of all children, and ensuring that every child feels they belong not just to their school, but to their local community.”

The group’s updated full membership is as follows:

Mr O’Neill and Ms Hassall have been contacted for comment.

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