I want to talk about something that doesn’t get said enough.
Headteachers and their teams across this country are working harder than most people will ever see or understand. In primary schools especially, we are managing increasingly complex SEND needs every single day – with the same number of hours, the same size classrooms, and in many cases, reducing support.
We do not stand still. We adapt timetables, create bespoke provision, build individual plans, train our staff, run reintegration meetings, maintain relationships with families, and pour enormous professional energy into finding the right solution for every child.
And we do this whilst also holding responsibility for every other child in the building. The child who is quietly struggling because the classroom is in chaos. The teacher who is running on empty but won’t say so. The leader who hasn’t stopped since the moment they walked through the door.
Inclusion, done well, is one of the most powerful things a school can offer. But it requires honesty. It requires resource. And it requires those outside of schools to trust the professional judgement of the people inside them – the people who are there, every day, who know these children, who know their staff, and who are making considered decisions under enormous pressure.
We are not looking for sympathy. We are looking for understanding. For genuine support. And for a system that sees the full picture – not just one part of it.
To every school leader navigating this right now: you are not alone, and what you are doing matters.
But we need the conversation about sustainable SEND provision in mainstream schools to get louder. Much louder.
Denham Kite 