Seminars and Panels

The proposed SEND reforms published earlier this year, outlined eagerly awaited plans to strengthen early identification, improve consistency of support, and ensure that all children and young people get the right provision at the right time. This panel will explore what these changes could mean in practice including the opportunities for children and young people, families, settings and services, and potential challenges around funding, workforce capacity, accountability and implementation.

As we enter a period of reform for SEND legislation, provision and practice, it is essential that SEN practitioners are equipped with the necessary status, skills and support to enable them to carry out their roles effectively. In this panel discussion, the co-authors of ‘The SEN Practitioner: status, skills and support, signed copies available today on the SEN Books stand, will consider what ‘status’ looks like in real settings, the core skills and knowledge needed to lead inclusive practice, and the conditions that help practitioners thrive. Join the conversation to consider what needs to change, and what we can do now, to strengthen the role and improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND.

Reading is a multifaceted activity which draws on a range of skills including phonics, decoding, sight vocabulary and comprehension. In an increasingly digital world, these skills for reading are used beyond the world of books and encompass both fiction and non-fiction. This opens up opportunities for the use of assistive technology, in all its forms, that may well be essential for some as well as useful for all.
This panel provides an opportunity to explore reading in all its forms and to consider how we can support and enable all children and young people to develop a life-long love of reading.

Ever feel like accessibility plans need improvement?
This session helps you to see what goes wrong and how things can be better.
You’ll be clear on how to lead, deliver or monitor your accessibility planning so that you see a real change in inclusion.

The seminar will cover definitions, context, co-occurrence maths anxiety, and indicators to look out for in the classroom. It will include information on the use of checklists and screening tools, the diagnostic process and assessment for intervention. It will include an overview of teaching intervention strategies for the classroom

This session examines how assistive technology can enhance pedagogy in primary schools, shifting from an add-on resource for SEND to a core teaching tool. It supports both teachers and leaders in planning sustainable implementation and offers practical strategies for purposeful classroom integration, guided by reflection, practical strategy and case studies.

This session explores why meaningful, progressive, age-respectful literacy education is an entitlement for every pupil, including those with complex needs and non-speaking learners. We examine how expectations shape opportunity, what inclusive literacy looks like in practice, how barriers can be removed, and how partnership with families strengthens progress.

This powerful speaker session introduces the VOICE framework — a clear, memorable approach to building trust, reducing conflict, and creating calmer, more collaborative partnerships with parents that improve outcomes for every child.

This session will explore the long-term impact of unidentified (SEND) and the systemic challenges that prevent early and effective support in schools.

It will begin by examining how unidentified needs can lead to academic underachievement, school anxiety, exclusion, and poor mental health, with a focus on how behaviour is often misinterpreted as defiance rather than communication of unmet need.

Many settings are now forming internal provision in response to rising need. This session introduces a practical framework to help leaders keep provision purposeful, reviewed and connected to meaningful learning and appropriate next steps.

This session will present an analysis of findings on inclusion from Ofsted inspections under the new framework.

An overview of all inspections under the new framework in terms of phase and region
Factors which determine the rating a school receives for inclusion

This session presents action research examining how race, SEND, and intersectionality shape identification and referral processes. Drawing on literature and staff interviews, it explores systemic bias, trust, leadership, and anti‑racist practice, offering practical reflections on embedding intersectionality into SEND systems and organisational culture.

Mainstream schools face rising SEND complexity. Matt McArthur (Special School Outreach Lead, Oxfordshire) shares a collaborative model where special schools empower mainstream settings. Discover how shared expertise and specialist Inclusion spaces can transform inclusion and improve outcomes for every child through proven, sustainable practice.

We are working in times of exponential change and yet the four pillars of education i.e. speaking, listening, reading and writing remain the same. 2026 is designated the National Year of Reading but what does this look like for those who need Assistive Technology, of any type, to access printed text? What does this look like for those who require alternative access to books and storytelling? This lively session will be full of practical ideas that you can take away and use in your practice and will cover a range of technologies from low tech, home made resources through tried and tested commercial resources to the power of AI and an exploration of what this can offer to our learners.

With teacher stress at record highs, burned-out educators can't co-regulate the children who need them most. Rowena Hicks reveals why you are the most powerful SEN strategy in your setting, and shares sustainable, low-energy tools to protect your wellbeing while helping students thrive.