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SEND Resource Bases could make exclusion worse
Questions over UK government SEN plans for schools
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By Peter Clark (Senior Editor, Autism Info Center) Friday 28th November 2025 |
School leaders, including those from mainstream and Alternative Provision (AP) settings, have challenged the government's reliance on resource bases and SEN units as the best way to achieve an inclusive Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) system, warning this approach could result in "exclusion in its worst sense".
The Department for Education (DfE) is encouraging mainstream schools to take on more pupils with SEND, commissioning guidance on running these provisions.
However, speakers at a panel debate voiced strong concerns.
Emma Bradshaw, CEO of Alternative Learning Trust, cited examples where resource bases become isolated and ineffective, merely 'containing' pupils and leading to poor outcomes like becoming Neet (not in education, employment or training).
Heba Al-Jayoosi, an assistant headteacher, added that resource provisions risk stigmatising neurodivergent children by placing them in "education in silos".
She advocated instead for a flexible, adapted curriculum and better-designed, inclusive mainstream school buildings, arguing that the physical environment is currently the "major barrier" despite the skills of staff.
Source: Tes (UK)
https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/
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