Training the People Who Make Inclusion Work: Turning the DfE's SEND Investment into Classroom Impact

The Department for Education's £200 million commitment to SEND training for all teaching staff signals that inclusion is central to school improvement. Raising system-wide SEND awareness is necessary and welcome.

School Week New Scheme will offer sent training to all teaching staff

But awareness alone doesn't change outcomes.

SEND provision succeeds or fails in everyday interactions between pupils and staff. In most schools, those interactions are led by Teaching Assistants. TAs deliver interventions, mediate learning, manage behaviour, support regulation and adapt teaching moment-by-moment. If this investment is to translate into real progress, school leaders must focus on how SEND training is enacted and sustained through the TA workforce. This is where structured, specialist development like Captiva's Advanced Skills Teaching Assistant Programme becomes critical. The programme is designed for staff already working intensively with pupils with SEND and applying strategies directly in classrooms every day.

What school leaders should do now

DfE training sets the expectation. Leadership action determines the impact. Schools that see genuine improvement will:

· Identify SEND-critical TA roles. Map which TAs are delivering 1:1 and small-group SEND interventions. Prioritise these staff for specialist development rather than generic CPD.

· Create a clear SEND delivery structure. Position teachers as planners and evaluators of SEND provision. Explicitly recognise TAs as facilitators of learning, not passive support. Align this with role expectations and performance conversations.

· Embed specialist training into daily practice. Use programmes that require workplace application, observation and reflection. Ensure SEND strategies are trialled, reviewed and refined in real time with pupils.

· Protect time for professional learning. Schedule regular time for trained TAs to reflect, gather evidence of impact and engage with mentors. Treat SEND capability as a priority improvement strand.

· Use SEND-trained TAs as internal capacity. Involve them in reviewing interventions, advising colleagues and feeding into SEND planning. Grow in-house expertise rather than relying on external fixes.

· Monitor impact, not attendance. Expect evidence of improved pupil engagement, independence and progress. Use observation and professional discussion to quality-assure SEND delivery.

Why this approach works

Captiva's programme moves experienced TAs from "helping" to confident, autonomous specialist practice. Its SEND pathway develops deep understanding of learning, inclusion and professional judgement, supported by mentoring and applied assessment in the apprentice's own setting.

It also builds professional resilience. SEND work is demanding. Staff who feel skilled, valued and professionally confident stay longer, work better together and provide the stable relationships SEND learners need most.

What happens next

The DfE has invested at scale. The next phase is leadership-led implementation.

Schools that treat SEND training as compliance will see little change. Schools that intentionally develop their Teaching Assistants as skilled SEND practitioners will see better outcomes, stronger teams and more sustainable inclusion.

Inclusion doesn't fail because staff don't care. It fails when the people doing the work aren't trained deeply enough to do it well.

Conclusion

The DfE’s investment marks an important shift in recognising SEND as a core element of school improvement. But the true measure of success will not be how many staff complete training, but how effectively SEND practice improves in classrooms.

Inclusive education is delivered through daily decisions, skilled interactions and sustained relationships. Teaching Assistants sit at the centre of this work. When schools deliberately develop their TAs as knowledgeable, confident SEND practitioners, training moves beyond awareness into impact.

The opportunity now is to lead this next stage with intent. Schools that prioritise specialist development, embed learning into practice and hold SEND provision to account through outcomes will build stronger teams and more responsive support for pupils. Where this happens, inclusion becomes consistent, sustainable and effective.

SEND doesn’t require more goodwill. It requires expertise, structure and leadership focus. When the people doing the work are equipped to do it well, inclusion works.