Recommendation 3

An inclusive mainstream education system must be underpinned by several key elements, all of which we would expect to be included in the Department’s definition at a level of detail sufficient to enable professionals and families to have a clear understanding of the Government’s approach: • education settings and environments must be accessible, safe, and designed to meet a wide range of sensory and physical needs; • teachers and teaching assistants and other support staff should have the expertise, training, and confidence to support diverse learners, underpinned by regular access to embedded specialist professionals; • the curriculum must be flexible, relevant, and reflect the representation of young people with SEND; and the Government must ensure the curriculum itself and the assessment of it reflect and accommodate their needs; 154 • accountability systems must examine and prioritise the progress and outcomes of all pupils, on a rounded set of indicators which include but are not limited to academic attainment, so that inclusion is embedded as an essential component of quality for all settings. The proportion of pupils with SEND should be published and compared with other local schools and multi-academy trusts, to act as a disincentive to exclusionary practices; and • critically, good inclusive practice must always ensure rigorous, systemic approaches to understanding the individual needs of every child and delivering personalised support. (Recommendation, Paragraph 36)