What it means for Teaching Assistants, Early Years Practitioners, and Schools
The UK government’s recent schools’ white paper ‘Every Child Achieving and Thriving’ and the SEND reform consultation ‘Putting Children and Young People First’ aim to make mainstream schools more inclusive for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
The reforms focus on earlier support, better-trained staff, stronger collaboration with specialists, and more funding directly for schools and learners wanting to train to enter the education sector. .
Now is the time to get ahead. With these changes on the horizon, developing your SEND capability now will put schools and their teaching staff in a stronger position to meet new expectations, support every learner effectively, and lead confidently through reform.
What the reforms mean for aspiring Teaching Assistants & Early Years Practitioners
1. Demand for SEND-skilled staff will increase
Schools and early years settings will need more trained staff who can:
- Identify additional needs early
- Deliver small group interventions
- Support inclusive classrooms
- Work with specialist professionals
This means Teaching Assistants and Early Years Practitioners with SEND training will be highly valued.
2. Staff training will become a priority
The government is investing £200 million in SEND training for school staff.
Future educators will need skills in:
- Adaptive teaching
- Behaviour and emotional support
- Speech, language and communication needs
- Autism and neurodiversity
- Supporting inclusive classrooms
Training routes like teaching assistant apprenticeships and Skills Bootcamps help people gain these skills quickly.
3. Support roles will become more specialist
Support staff will increasingly help deliver:
- Targeted interventions
- Individual Support Plans (ISPs)
- Evidence-based strategies for SEND learners
Teaching assistants will play a bigger role in day-to-day support planning and delivery.
4. Closer work with specialist professionals
Schools will gain access to the Experts at Hand service, bringing professionals such as:
- Educational psychologists
- Speech & language therapists
- Occupational therapists
Support staff will often help implement strategies recommended by these specialists.
What the reforms mean for schools as employers
1. More funding directly to schools
Schools will receive funding through the Inclusive Mainstream Fund (£1.6 billion) to:
- Improve inclusive practice
- Hire staff
- Provide targeted interventions
- Improve learning environments
2. Greater responsibility for inclusion
Schools must:
- Create Individual Support Plans for SEND pupils
- Deliver evidence-based interventions
- Publish an Inclusion Strategy
- Provide calm, adaptive learning environments
Support staff will be central to making this happen.
3. More SEND provision inside mainstream schools
New initiatives include:
- Inclusion Bases in secondary schools
- Specialist Provision Packages
- Local school partnerships to share resources
This will increase the need for trained support staff across all education settings.
4. Better early support instead of long waiting processes
The goal is to ensure many children receive help before needing an EHCP.
Teaching assistants and early years practitioners will often be the first professionals to identify and support additional needs.
Timeline for reforms
2026–2028
- SEND workforce training begins
- Inclusive Mainstream Fund introduced
- Experts at Hand service launched
2028–2029
- Legislation introduced
- National Inclusion Standards implemented
2029 onwards
- New SEND system begins
- Individual Support Plans introduced
- 60,000 new SEND places created in schools and inclusion bases
How JCL Skills Solutions is supporting these changes
At JCL Skills Solutions, we recognise that these reforms place the education workforce at the heart of delivering inclusive learning. Our Teaching Assistant Apprenticeships and Skills Bootcamps are designed to equip aspiring education professionals with the knowledge and practical skills schools increasingly need. Training focuses on early identification of SEND, supporting inclusive classrooms, delivering targeted interventions, and working effectively alongside specialist professionals such as speech and language therapists or educational psychologists.
For schools and early years settings, our programmes provide a pathway to develop and upskill staff in line with the new expectations around inclusion, adaptive teaching, and evidence-based support strategies.
By aligning our training with the direction of national SEND reform, JCL Skills Solutions helps both learners and employers prepare for the future of inclusive education-ensuring that every child has the opportunity to achieve and thrive.
Contact us today to begin your SEND Skills journey. Click here.
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