At Bradford College, 93 per cent of our students come from areas ranked in the two most deprived bands in England according to the Index of Multiple Deprivation, the poorest 40 per cent of communities in the country. One in five tells us they have a disability. Many more have needs that haven’t been formally diagnosed. We also teach unaccompanied asylum-seeking young people who are learning English while trying to build a life in a new country. When SEND is discussed nationally, those realities rarely make it into the room. In colleges serving communities like ours, they shape everything. I’ve worked in further education for over 20 years and my current role as assistant principal for students means overseeing safeguarding, wellbeing, careers and disability services alongside teaching and assessment. Across all of that, one thing has become clear: students are arriving less ready for adulthood than they used to be. I don’t say that to criticise young people. The world they’re growing up in has changed dramatically. Economic pressure on families plays a role. Many parents are working flat out simply to keep things going. Students entering FE now also experienced the disruption of Covid during critical years of their education. Social media has also changed the pressures young people face before they even walk through our doors. When I was younger, if you were in your bedroom, you were safe from the outside world. That isn’t the case anymore. A young person can be bullied or see violence in their bedroom. They can experience the weight of the wider world through their phone before they’ve even started the day. Then they arrive at college and we expect them to be ready to learn. Quite a lot of our work is about helping students reach that point first. Staff spend time supporting learners to regulate emotions, build confidence and feel that they belong in education. Without that foundation, qualifications won’t change very much. One thing I say often is that learning support should be built in, not bolt on. The first person supporting a student should always be their teacher. Inclusive teaching makes a huge difference to whether learners feel able to take part. The sooner staff get to know their students; the sooner they can build the relationships that help young people attend and stay engaged. Independence matters just as much. In the past the sector often relied heavily on placing learning assistants beside students throughout lessons, almost ‘Velcroed’ to their side. That can help in the short term, but it also creates dependence. Students need to develop the skills and confidence to manage their own learning. At Bradford we have specialists who assess students and train them to use assistive technology such as dictation software, reading tools and applications that help with organisation. Students learn how to use those tools properly so they can rely on something they control themselves, in college and beyond. Even with strong support in place, the wider system still creates serious obstacles. High needs place funding hasn’t been updated since 2014. That was the year after Disney’s Frozen came out. Six years later the film got a sequel – high needs funding is still waiting for one. Meanwhile colleges are welcoming students with increasingly complex needs. Staff across the sector are doing extraordinary work, but the pressure on resources is becoming unsustainable. Something has to give, and too often it’s the students who pay the price. Then there’s the cliff edge at 19. Our funding is tied to qualifications, not to young people. Just as a student begins to build real confidence and resilience, the money runs out. What we actually need is the flexibility to meet students where they are and support them for as long as they need, rather than rushing them through a qualification and out into a world they aren’t yet ready for. The current SEND reform consultation contains some genuinely encouraging ideas. Having built-in support within mainstream settings so young people can attend their local college is the right direction. But warm words aren’t enough. Reform will only succeed if the resources match the ambition. So, ministers… for the first time in forever, fund SEND properly.