SEND help to general FE, specialist teachers told

Expert staff at specialist post-16 institutions could guide general FE colleges on how best to spend new inclusion cash, officials have said.

Under guidance published today, the Department for Education said 16-to-19 providers receiving a share of its £73 million inclusive mainstream fund could commission specialist colleges to deliver bespoke training to staff, or organise shadowing or placements in specialist settings.

The suggestions were among an outline of how the grant money could be spent, including delivering adaptive teaching, an inclusive environment and “ambitious” leadership.

A new “inclusive education estates” strategy was also published and reminds local authorities that high-needs capital allocations should be spent in post-16 settings as well as schools.

The two initiatives are among a package of reforms to embed inclusive practice across mainstream education in England.

Earlier this month, the DfE published a breakdown of colleges and training providers receiving a share of £73 million of inclusive mainstream fund allocations for 2026-27. The fund will run until 2029.

Putting heads together

Explaining a desire to build partnerships, the inclusive mainstream fund guidance says: “FE institutions already draw on a range of expertise to support learners with SEND, you may wish to further strengthen this by building on existing partnerships with specialist colleges.”

It adds that specialist providers could help develop alternative approaches to inclusion in areas where colleges have failed in the past.

Other tips include recruiting additional staff to learning support teams, strengthening data collection systems, and setting up informal information evenings for parents and carers of SEND learners.

Providers receiving inclusive mainstream fund cash will be required to set out how they use the money in their annual accountability statements. They also must explain how they respond to SEND and local skills needs. Furthermore, Ofsted will check how the funding is improving outcomes for learners during inspections.

The DfE also recommended using the inclusive mainstream fund for accessible campus maps, sensory tools in classrooms and assistive technology.

It highlighted Stoke-on-Trent College, which set up bespoke timetables, sensory-aware environments and real-world embedded curriculums for learners.

“This initiative is scalable, sustainable and sector-leading, offering a replicable model of inclusive excellence that transforms lives and communities,” the DfE said.

David Holloway, senior policy manager for SEND at the Association of Colleges, said the fund was a “welcome” way to level the playing field for the majority of students with SEND who do not receive any high-needs funding.

“Colleges are highly inclusive in both their enrolment and the way they support students,” he added. “But inclusiveness is fragile in the face of the many financial pressures colleges face.”

Clare Howard, chief executive of Natspec, agreed that the partnership idea would achieve “greater inclusiveness” but warned DfE that its push for mainstream inclusion should not overlook specialist provision.

“Young people in specialist colleges frequently say that specialist provision has given them a sense of belonging, of being valued and understood, and of being supported and challenged to achieve their goal – in other words, of being included,” she said.

Howard added: “This guidance will support FE colleges to build on the highly inclusive practice that already exists, but focussing solely on mainstream risks letting down children and young people with a higher level of need and the specialist providers who serve them.”

The DfE’s guidance said grants should be used at a cohort and whole-institution level, rather than as a personal budget for individual students.

“It is for 16-to-19 settings to decide how to allocate their total funding allocation, after assessing the needs of their overall cohort and the evidence-based activities and approaches that will be effective in their context,” it added.

Officials also clarified that 16-to-19 providers can carry some of their 2026-27 allocation beyond March 31, 2027, provided it is used alongside core funding to strengthen their inclusive offer.

Estates cash ‘for FE too’

The government also rolled out its non-statutory inclusion estates strategy setting out expectations on making school and college estates more inclusive.

It makes clear that high-needs provision capital allocation, an £860 million pot for local authorities to distribute, can be used to adapt college classrooms to make them more inclusive, such as fitting height-adjustable benches or creating wellbeing gardens.

Local authorities have been able to direct capital funding to FE colleges since the fund launched in 2021. They are now required to specify in local SEND reform plans how their capital strategy will cover the full newborn-to-25 age range.

Holloway said: “It is welcome to see the inclusive estates guidance make the point that high-needs provision capital allocations can be spent in colleges as well as schools.”