On Saturday a colleague  and I attended the National Education Union Special educational Needs and Disabilities(NEU SEND) Organising Forum, where SEND educators, support staff, activists and union representatives came together to discuss the future of SEND provision and inclusive education.

A key theme throughout the day was the importance of collective action, sharing good practice, and building stronger networks across schools and local communities. The forum highlighted the role of SEND activists in challenging inequalities, supporting colleagues, and ensuring that the voices of children, families and education staff are heard.

The Government’s SEND White Paper 2026 formed a significant part of the discussion. Its vision is built around five principles:

• Early intervention

• Local provision close to home

• Fair and consistent support

• Evidence-informed practice

• Shared responsibility across education, health and care

The government pledges £3bn on building inclusion spaces in secondary schools, £1.8bn on more specialist teachers and £200m on general teacher training. It is not enough. Currently there are nearly 500,000 teachers and 22,000 schools of which 3400 are secondary and 1050 are Special Schools. 

Inclusion costs more than Government is planning

You do not get a lot of training for £40 a teacher and this money is not a one year allocation. This does not respond to the main barriers to inclusion which are staffing and training. We are not opposed to inclusion spaces in secondary schools which favour integration rather than isolation of SEND students but the government is totally underestimating the real costs.

The government aims to replace the EHCP (Education, Health and Care Plan) system which once achieved, often after much parental effort, provides legal or statutory support with Digital Individual Support Plans (ISPs) which will have lower costs and not the same legal basis as the current system.

However, my reflection on the whole project is that the government’s separation of mainstream and special education is a grave error. It is a mistake from an educational view as well as for funding.

The current high stakes, narrow curriculum, especially when delivered in large classrooms of 30 plus, fails many. It results in larger numbers of disabled pupils. The SEND budget has been constantly on the increase resulting in Local Authorities spending more and more on this sector. The government is offering the Safety Valve program, (bailing them out of their debts) to all LEAs but with strings attached.

LEAs need to agree to reduce their ongoing expenses by integrating more pupils into mainstream schools. The additional funding sounds a lot but in reality is not much other than some specialist teachers (equivalent to the teacher seeing 1 child for 1 day per 1 academic year).The new inclusion bases may look good but they will not have enough suitably qualified staff unless there is significant extra funding.

The Labour government’s implementation of the Defence Investment Plan will result in further spending cuts across all departments so it is unlikely that the increased funding will be found.  Only a massive campaign by teachers, parents and their allies can secure the necessary funding to meet the needs of SEND students.