SEND brief · National developments and local context

In Your Corner SEND brief — 28 September 2026

Published 28 September 2026

The principal development is a new national SEND-training package for schools, colleges and early-years settings. It offers useful practical leverage, but does not change statutory duties, EHCP rights or assessment thresholds.

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National SEND and inclusion training launched

Status: Non-statutory training materials; available from 24 September 2026.

DfE has published free materials for in-house training of teachers and teaching assistants in mainstream primary, secondary and post-16 settings.

Current modules cover:

Inclusive teaching, universal approaches, adaptations and additional support.
Identifying and responding to different “areas of development”.
Speech, language and communication.
Practical strategies including manageable instructions, vocabulary preparation and opportunities to practise skills.

Official sources: DfE SEND and inclusion training for mainstream schools, DfE SEND and inclusion training for post-16 settings and DfE training announcement, 25 September 2026.

Early years and future rollout

DfE's 25 September announcement also describes separate, free online training for early-years staff, developed and delivered by Dingley's Promise, and encourages settings to access it. The announcement does not specify a precise early-years launch date, so this brief does not assign it the school materials' 24 September start date.

Further school and post-16 modules are scheduled for January 2027 and April 2027. DfE has announced that new fully funded training courses will follow in September 2027. These are future stages of the rollout, not courses already available as at 28 September 2026.

The current package is incomplete: social and emotional development and executive function modules are expected in January 2027; motor, physical and sensory modules in April 2027. DfE also lists further inclusive-teaching strategy materials for January and case studies for April.

See the DfE list of training topics and planned release dates and DfE announcement on early-years training and future funded courses. The Inclusive Early Years Fund guidance explains the separate funding context, including support for staff release time and whole-setting inclusive practice; it is not a timetable for the new training programme.

Why this matters for families

Schools sometimes describe adjustments as specialist techniques which ordinary staff cannot provide.

The new materials expressly present inclusive teaching, classroom adaptations and speech-and-language strategies as practices for mainstream teaching staff—not support that necessarily has to await diagnosis, specialist placement or an EHCP.

See DfE: What is inclusive teaching? and DfE: Speech, language and communication training materials.

Advocacy implications

When a school says it lacks expertise, ask whether it has accessed the new DfE package and what staff-development plan it has agreed.

In SEN Support reviews, seek specifics:

Which adaptations have been tried?
Who is responsible for implementing them?
How consistently have they been used?
What evidence has been collected?
When will their effectiveness be reviewed?

Use the resources to suggest potential approaches, but do not allow generic “inclusive teaching” to replace individually assessed provision, specialist advice or provision specified in Section F.

If a child has speech, language or communication needs, the dedicated evidence summary and training materials may help frame questions about classroom language, processing time, visual support and staff implementation.

Where a setting says staff training must occur before support can begin, ask for interim arrangements. Training rollout does not suspend existing best-endeavours, reasonable-adjustment or EHCP duties.

Relevant duties include section 66 of the Children and Families Act 2014 (best endeavours), section 20 of the Equality Act 2010 (reasonable adjustments) and section 42 of the Children and Families Act 2014 (EHC plan provision).

The package is not statutory guidance and publication does not establish an individual entitlement to a particular module or compel a school to use this precise programme.

It is nevertheless credible government-backed material for questioning claims that ordinary inclusive strategies are unavailable. The DfE training collection expressly says delivery is encouraged, not mandatory.

Longer-term vocational reforms announced

Status: Announcement and future consultation—not an implemented qualification reform or an available qualification.

DfE announced new Vocational GCSEs, intended eventually to replace existing Technical Awards.

Some subjects may become available from September 2029, while a consultation is promised later in 2026.

A national initiative also seeks more work-experience opportunities for 14–16-year-olds.

Source: DfE: New Vocational GCSEs and work-experience announcement, 23 September 2026.

This may become relevant to Preparation for Adulthood and curriculum planning, particularly for pupils at risk of becoming NEET (not in education, employment or training).

For current annual reviews, however, schools and councils should plan from qualifications, placements and work-experience opportunities that actually exist. The announcement is not a reason to defer present provision.

Local and legal position

In the official sources reviewed for this brief, no further consequential Kent or Medway SEND-service change, NHS neurodevelopmental-pathway revision, SEND Tribunal direction or new SEND-specific Ombudsman guidance was identified for 22–28 September 2026. This was a targeted review of public announcements and guidance, not an exhaustive check of all local services, decisions or case-specific Tribunal directions. It should not be read as proof that no changes occurred.

The review covered Kent's inspection and education-news pages, Medway's news and Local Offer, NHS Kent and Medway public news, the GOV.UK SEND Tribunal page and Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman news, supplemented by searches of official council, NHS, judiciary and Ombudsman sources.

As at 28 September 2026, Kent's published inspection response said the local area would finalise a Local Area Strategic Plan. A published final plan was not located in the official sources reviewed; this is a statement about that review, not definitive confirmation of non-publication.

Individual complaints should continue to seek immediate, case-specific action rather than await system-planning work. Inspection findings are system-level context and do not automatically prove an individual statutory breach.

The training package and future vocational proposals do not change the statutory position: current EHC-assessment tests, Section 19 education duties, Section 42 provision, school best-endeavours duties, Equality Act adjustments and Tribunal rights continue to apply.

Current duties and rights

Children and Families Act 2014, section 36: EHC needs assessments Education Act 1996, section 19: suitable education Children and Families Act 2014, section 42: securing EHC plan provision Children and Families Act 2014, section 66: best endeavours Equality Act 2010, section 20: reasonable adjustments Children and Families Act 2014, section 51: appeals DfE and DHSC: SEND code of practice, 0 to 25 years (statutory guidance)

Official sources checked for local and legal updates

The check was limited to public material available on or before 28 September 2026. This dated brief is not a live feed and does not incorporate later developments.

In Your Corner SEND brief.

Published 28 September 2026. Sources and practical implications are distinguished above. Read our editorial standards.

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