The Department for Education (DfE) has today announced a landmark £200 million investment to provide specialist SEND and inclusion training to every teacher in England. The move is a central pillar of the government’s mission to make “inclusive practice the norm” across all mainstream schools.
The new mandate, which will be written into the SEND Code of Practice, expects every teacher in nurseries, schools, and colleges to receive training on adaptive teaching methods. This includes specific modules on supporting pupils with visual impairments and speech and language needs, alongside the use of assistive technology like speech-to-text tools. The DfE’s stated goal is to reduce the number of EHCP applications by ensuring mainstream teachers can support more children “in-house,” thereby easing the pressure on specialist provision.
While sector leaders have called the move “long overdue,” teaching unions and advocacy groups remain skeptical. They warn that training alone is “barely a drop in the bucket” and cannot replace the vital specialist support services—such as educational psychologists and speech therapists—that have faced significant cuts over the last decade. Critics argue that without addressing the root causes of underfunding and a chronic shortage of specialist staff, the training initiative risks becoming a superficial solution to a systemic crisis.
Key Questions: Can widespread teacher training truly transform inclusive practice, or is it a diversion from the deeper structural issues plaguing the SEND system?
