60,000 new SEND places

Special education changes to make schools more inclusive

- SOPHIE HUSKISSON

PUPILS with special educational needs and disabilities will be better supported in mainstream schools with 60,000 new specialist places, under plans to boost inclusion.

Radical changes will also mean all mainstream teachers are trained in Send and, by 2035, only children with the most complex needs would qualify for Education, Health and Care Plans.

As part of reforms, schools could instantly issue Individual Support Plans, with the tiers: targeted, targeted plus and specialist provision packages.

The last tier would be for kids who are deaf, have a visual impairment or severe learning difficulties, physical disabilities, autism or ADHD.