Introduction

What makes a great SEND school?

Along with our customers, we want to create outstanding SEND schools.

In the build up to the projects we have delivered, we frequently come up against the question: What makes a great SEND school?

To unpack and explore this question, which sits at the heart of SEND delivery, we brought together experts, partners, clients, collaborators, and influencers from the public and private sectors to look at the factors that make up a truly great SEND school and examine how the delivery pathway could be enhanced for all stakeholders.

From July to September 2019, we commissioned an independent market research company to conduct 16 in-depth interviews with key stakeholders in the SEND sector.In-depth interviews were largely unstructured with participants being encouraged to talk about key issues and themes, which they felt were important and had shaped their experience of SEND school delivery.

Our participants included representatives from local authorities in Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire; head teachers from leading SEND schools across the region; architects, designers, and consultants with extensive SEND school delivery experience; representatives from national bodies including the National Autistic Society; and parental support groups including Sensational Families.

We also facilitated a focus group with our in-house specialist SEND delivery team to explore their learnings, insights, and experiences and reflect back on what we have learnt from our decades working in the heart of the sector – delivering high quality SEND schools across the region and nationally.

The results of these conversations form the body of this paper, and bring to light key themes and insights exploring best practice and suggestions for shaping future delivery of SEND schools.