With significant SEND reforms on the horizon, schools and colleges are navigating how national change translates into everyday practice. This webinar, hosted by Whole School SEND, brings together nasen CEO Annamarie Hassall MBE in conversation with a panel of experts from across the sector. We will explore:
- The proposed reforms: the key proposals, the policy intent behind them, and what they are likely to mean in practice.
- Where you already are: how strong inclusive practice in many settings already meets these expectations.
- Perspectives from across the sector: practical views from education leadership, the specialist sector, and parents and young people with lived experience.
- Your questions: a chaired panel discussion with time for questions from the audience throughout.
The session aims to support leaders to feel confident about the direction of travel, reassured about what they are already doing well, and clear about where to focus their leadership as the reforms develop.
Suitable for: SENCO, Teacher, Senior Leader, Trust Leader, Governor or Trustee, FE and post-16 Leader
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Meet your panel
Annamarie Hassall MBE
Annamarie Hassall MBE is Chief Executive Officer of nasen, the National Association for Special Educational Needs, and leads the charity’s work supporting the education workforce across every phase and setting. She will open the session with an overview of the proposed reforms and chair the discussion that follows.
Caroline Sutton-Reid
Caroline Sutton-Reid is National Co-Ordinator for Whole School SEND at nasen, where she leads the delivery of the Universal SEND Services offer to schools and colleges across England.
Claire Cookson
Claire Cookson is Chief Executive Officer of Pathways Community Trust and of Bloom Now.Me, bringing a trust leadership perspective on how specialist and mainstream provision work together.
Conrad Bourne
Conrad Bourne is Whole School SEND Deputy Regional Lead and Director for SEND at The Mercian Trust, working across both regional strategy and day-to-day provision in schools.
Frances Akinde
Frances Akinde is an author and SEND education expert whose work focuses on inclusive practice and anti-ableism in schools.
Rose Wright
Rose Wright is an inclusion advocate who draws on lived experience of the SEND system to inform how policy and provision are shaped.
Tania Tirraoro
Tania Tirraoro is Co-Director of Special Needs Jungle and a parent, bringing the perspective of families navigating the SEND system.
