Schools White Paper and SEND Reform Consultation

An initial view written by James Waller, EfL Advisory Board member; Headteacher of Sunningdale School; and Chair of EQUALS.

Yesterday saw the publication of the Government’s Schools White Paper – Every Child Achieving and Thriving and the consultation SEND Reform: Putting Children and Young People First. Together, these documents are intended to signal a major step toward a more coherent, equitable and inclusive education system for children and young people across England.

Evidence for Learning (EfL) advisory board member James Waller was invited to 10 Downing Street to discuss the reforms directly at a roundtable event with the Prime Minister, The Rt Hon Keir Starmer. James then travelled to Peterborough to join the Secretary of State for Education, The Rt Hon Bridget Phillipson, at the formal launch of both publications.

Attending in his capacity as Headteacher of Sunningdale School, Sunningdale EY Centre and Director of SENhub in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, James contributed insights reflecting the experiences of schools working with learners who have the most complex needs and the role specialist provisions can play in supporting the wider sector through collaboration and practice sharing.

Key themes within the reforms include:

• Clearer and more consistent Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs)

• The introduction of National Inclusion Standards across all phases

• A strengthened and redefined role for specialist settings

• An emphasis on early identification, multiagency working and equitable access to support in every area

A Pivotal Moment for Collaboration and Shared Practice

The direction of travel outlined yesterday highlights the importance of a unified education system in which specialist and mainstream settings work in partnership.

For settings like ours that are using Evidence for Learning, this represents a significant opportunity to strengthen the culture of shared practice, reflective enquiry and evidence-informed decision-making that the platform was designed to support.

In the months ahead, Evidence for Learning will continue to:

• Provide tools that help schools capture, reflect on and share high-quality evidence of learning and progress

• Support meaningful collaboration between mainstream and specialist settings through shared frameworks, case studies and professional dialogue via online and in-person events and forums

• Help schools interpret and embed the emerging National Inclusion Standards in ways that strengthen pedagogy and personalisation

• Enable educators, therapists and families to work together around each learner, ensuring support is timely, coherent and centred on individual strengths and needs

Evidence for Learning’s community of specialist and mainstream schools already demonstrates the power of transparent, collaborative practice. The reforms announced today create new opportunities to expand this culture across the whole system.

James Waller, EfL Advisory Board Member, said:

“Evidence for Learning is uniquely placed to support this shift suggested in the White Paper and SEND Reform consultation publications by helping mainstream and specialist schools like Sunningdale share practice, understand learners holistically and engage in meaningful professional conversations.

As these reforms develop, we remain committed to supporting educators, families and professionals to work together so that children and young people with the most complex needs can thrive.”

About James Waller

James is currently the Headteacher at Sunningdale School, an Outstanding provision in Tyne and Wear for pupils with Severe, Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties. He is also Headteacher at the newly opened Sunningdale Early Years Centre and Director of SENhub.

James has worked with young people with learning difficulties for the last 20 years. He has spent his teaching career in both Primary and Secondary phases of education, specifically working with children with Moderate, Severe, Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties and Autism.

James has developed and delivered workshops on a wide variety of topics related to Severe, Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties on behalf of SENhub, Together for Children, Northern Lights, Evidence for Learning, Equals and other organisations such as the Virtual SEND Conference and TES.

James is involved in the delivery of NPQSL, NPQH and the Early Careers Framework (ECF) to cohorts from Specialist Settings in the North East of England. He was previously a Specialist Leader of Education (SLE) and one of the Standards and Testing Agency’s Engagement Model Lead Trainers.

In partnership with the University of Northumbria, James oversees Sunningdale School’s bespoke Initial Teacher Training course for individuals wishing to teach in specialist settings. He also works as a visiting lecturer on teaching children with Severe Learning Difficulties for the University of Northumbria and has previously managed a number of outreach and intervention teams, including the Portage Service, on behalf of Sunderland Local Authority.

James has been a valued member of the EfL Advisory Board since 2022. He has been a Trustee of Equals since 2018 and is currently Chair of Trustees at Equals.

James’ interests are in curriculum development, the use of engagement, ipsative assessment, early teacher development and system leadership.