As the government delays its White Paper on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) for further consultation, schools are already adapting on the ground, building evidence-informed practice that benefits all children.

Inclusion in Practice is a sector-led project designed to capture examples of good practice and deepen our understanding of what successful inclusion looks like.

Supported by Tom Rees, chair of the Department for Education’s Expert Advisory Group for Inclusion, Ambition Institute and the Confederation of School Trusts, it is bringing together teachers, leaders and researchers to share promising insights into what is working, for us all to learn from.

In the first of a series of three sector-wide webinars, the recent Building evidence-informed teaching that works for all surfaced the latest research on the science of learning, alongside practical and pragmatic advice for practitioners.

Attendees heard from Dr Jennifer Barker, national director of learning at Ormiston Academies Trust, Cathie Paine, CEO of REAch2 Academy Trust, Rachael Stevenson, REAch2‘s head of SEND, and Peps McCrea, director of education at training provider Steplab.

The session was a motivating call for teachers and leaders to rethink, refine, and re-empower their teams, for the benefit of every child. Here are five key learnings to take away:

1. Children have more similarities than differences

One compelling argument presented by the research was the idea of embracing cognitive similarity. McCrea and Barker referred to their joint paper on this subject and urged participants to recognise that all pupils share more similarities in how they learn than differences.

Their collaborative research argues that strategies such as clear instruction, explicit teaching and retrieval practice benefit all pupils, but crucially, these strategies support vulnerable learners even more. Young people with SEND need great teaching the most.

McCrea encouraged schools to pivot from an individualistic model to a more inclusive, system-wide approach, emphasising high-quality, evidence-based teaching tailored thoughtfully to the cognitive architecture that all pupils share. In practice, this means investing in robust teaching methodologies that raise the bar for everyone.

2. Adaptive teaching is the heart of inclusion

From REAch2’s work came a practical articulation of adaptive teaching. Rather than layering numerous separate interventions, adaptive teaching focuses on identifying and removing barriers to learning for all children through evidence-informed techniques integrated into the classroom.

Key components of REAch2’s approach include:

• Cultivating an inclusive culture where high expectations are unwavering for every pupil, powered by deep relationships and strong knowledge of the child.
• Systematic use of pre-teaching strategies, such as introducing key lesson vocabulary and concepts in advance to boost pupil confidence and readiness in class.
• Frequent assessment for learning through “hinge questions”, designed not only to check comprehension but to identify misconceptions early.
• We heard how this streamlined approach at REAch2 not only enhances learning outcomes but can also ease teacher workload.

3. Empower and invest in workforce development across the board

The complex needs of learners demand a confident, well-informed and supported workforce. Paine spoke about the critical importance of continuous, accessible professional development for all staff to support all children.

REAch2 offers bite-sized, targeted sessions that are live or recorded and readily accessible, ensuring staff can build expertise at their own pace without overload.

Additionally, embedding training into regular staff meetings and tailoring content for specific roles, including teachers, teaching assistants and Sendcos, has proven effective in building collective capacity and confidence.

Crucially, Paine highlighted how training on inclusive practice should not be seen as an add-on or niche specialisation but as integral to every teacher’s skill set throughout their professional career.

4. Genuine inclusion requires pupil and family voice at its heart

All speakers agreed that we cannot overstate the importance of listening to the pupils themselves. Formal mechanisms like pupil councils and shadowing pupils with additional needs provide invaluable insights into what works and what does not from the child’s perspective.

We heard passionately that seeing the daily experience of school through a child’s eyes is essential to designing provision that truly supports all young people.

Likewise, robust and trusting partnerships with parents are critical. The journey for families navigating SEND provision is often fraught with frustration and vulnerability.

Schools that commit to working closely with families, recognising the outsized influence of home environments on children’s success, create the kind of stable environment where children can thrive. This calls for schools to go beyond compliance and genuinely embrace parents as partners and vice versa.

5. Tackling SEND challenges is urgent and complex, but not insurmountable

The evidence and practice presented left no room for complacency or the impression of a finished job.

The attainment and wellbeing gaps for pupils with SEND remain significant, socioeconomic disparities persist, teacher confidence can be low, and funding pressures are well-rehearsed.

But as we are seeing through Inclusion in Practice, there are many examples of effective practice happening across the country, where schools are working within the existing system and current constraints to achieve good outcomes for all children, including those with additional needs.

For those keen to delve deeper into the research and practical strategies discussed, Inclusion in Practice is building a repository of online case studies and will share the webinar recordings in full.

The next in the webinar series takes place today, on the topic of Inclusion as a shared responsibility, with a focus on engagement and collaboration with parents, local authorities and expert providers.

Elin de Zoete is group director at ImpactEd Group and research lead for Inclusion in Practice

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