Labour's Send reforms get this right: disabled children in mainstream schools is transformative for everyone | Frances Ryan

"These are significant and complex changes, many of which will not fully come into force until 2030, but inclusion is the overriding theme: all mainstream schools will now have tailored support to in the government's words make every school truly inclusive, with multibillion-pound funding for 60,000 additional special-needs places and inclusion bases in all schools."

"This comes after a decade in which failed reform has seen more and more disabled kids siloed out of mainstream schools. Between 2012 and 2019, the number of children with Send in English mainstream education fell by almost a quarter, while those attending specialist schools rose by nearly a third."

"The government, to its credit, is keen to stress that attempts to tackle this are not about saving money, but the narrative that pupils with special needs are an expense the country can't afford is never far away."

Labour's overhaul of England's Send system prioritizes inclusion by requiring all mainstream schools to provide tailored support for disabled pupils, with multibillion-pound funding for 60,000 additional special-needs places and inclusion bases. The reforms, fully implemented by 2030, address a decade-long trend where disabled children were increasingly segregated into specialist schools. Between 2012 and 2019, mainstream Send enrollment fell by nearly a quarter while specialist school attendance rose by a third, accompanied by cuts to teaching assistants and specialist teachers. The government frames these changes as inclusion-focused rather than cost-saving, though narratives portraying disabled pupils as financial burdens persist in public discourse.

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