• How can we embed inclusive practices more effectively across mainstream education settings to meet a broader range of needs earlier?
• What are the most impactful ways to rebuild trust and confidence among parents and carers navigating the SEND system?
• In light of forthcoming policy changes, what can schools, local authorities, and services usefully do now to prepare and drive improvement?
• Questions and answers

• What are the current issues impacting the SEND system, and what immediate steps can the sector take to address them?
• Identifying and overcoming the barriers to ensure provision is truly inclusive and accessible for all learners
• How can educational settings work closely with external stakeholders, services and agencies to tackle sector-wide challenges?
• Highlighting and utilising the success and positive outcomes we are seeing in the space

Leora Cruddas CBE, Chief Executive and Founding CEO of Confederation of School Trusts and Visiting Professor at UCL Institute of Education

Claire Dorer, CEO, National Association of Special Schools

Dr Daniel Stavrou, Assistant Director - Education and Equalities, Council for Disabled Children / National Children's Bureau

Jo Harrison, Co-Chair and Director, National Network of Parent Carer Forums C.I.C. 

• Explore the impact of peer-led approaches to autistic pupils’ wellbeing at school
• Why a whole school approach to inclusion benefits autistic young people
• Questions and answers

• Understand how Ofsted's proposed reforms aim to evaluate inclusion as a core pillar across all inspection areas
• Gain an overview of the proposed inclusion-specific judgment and what it means for schools, MATs, and local authorities
• Discuss how the sector can shape Ofsted's evolving approach through active consultation and what to expect from the rollout of the new framework and report cards
• Questions and answers

• How can mainstream schools successfully embed specialist expertise and inclusive pedagogy into everyday practice?
• What are the most effective models for designing, funding, and sustaining high-impact resource provisions?
• How can schools maintain a balance between bespoke interventions and whole-school inclusion?
• Scaling effective practice across phases: primary, secondary, and beyond

Elizabeth Murray, SEND Director, Supporting Education Group

Sam Strickland, Principal, The Duston School

Amelie Thompson, Assistant Director of Education - SEND and Special Provision, Greenshaw Learning Trust

Simon Tanner, Director of School Improvement (SEND), Authentic Education

• How can alternative provision be designed and delivered to provide high-quality education and life chances
• What strategies and partnerships best support smooth transitions between mainstream schools, PRUs, and specialist settings?
• How can early intervention and multi-agency collaboration reduce exclusions and address complex needs before they escalate?
• Questions and answers

• How can schools create meaningful platforms for learners with SEND to express their views and shape their education?
• Practical strategies for fostering agency, self-advocacy, and student-led initiatives
• Lessons from lived experience: what works in building inclusive school cultures where all voices matter
• Questions and answers

• Explore the latest evidence on what makes resourced provision and specialist units effective services
• Discuss whether resourced provision and specialist units function as inclusive services or safe spaces
• Offer practical guidance for schools and leaders on developing resourced provision and specialist units as inclusive services
• Questions and answers

• How can schools and early years settings integrate the preparation for adulthood outcomes into everyday teaching and learning?
• Discuss how schools, families, and support services can work together to equip young people with SEND with the skills needed for independent living, employment, and social participation
• Questions and answers

• How are local authorities developing and implementing impactful SEND strategies?
• How are LAs improving the quality and consistency of EHCPs across boroughs?
• What does effective multi-agency working look like in practice?

Elizabeth Funge, Assistant Director Education - Children’s Services, East Sussex County Council

Pauline Melvin-Anderson OBE, Independent Associate

*programme subject to change without notice