• Understand the latest developments in SEND and Alternative Provision reform
• Examine the implications of emerging national inclusion standards
• Explore how schools can prepare for evolving accountability and support frameworks

• What is meant by a “Universal Relational Approach”?

• How can schools use a Universal Relational Approach to increase inclusion within their schools?

• How can a Universal Relational Approach complement adaptive teaching practices?

• Explore how trusts and schools can develop inclusive mainstream provision that enables more children and young people with SEND to thrive within their local school community.
• Understand the principles of "Inclusion by Design" and how proactive planning can reduce barriers to learning and participation.
• Examine the importance of early intervention and the role of deploying specialist expertise more quickly to support children before needs escalate.
• Consider how resources can be targeted effectively to ensure children with the most complex needs receive timely and appropriate support.
• Reflect on the future direction of SEND reform and the opportunities for trusts, schools and local partners to shape a more sustainable and inclusive system.

• The right support, at the right time, for a wider range of needs
• Explore how to incorporate scaffolding with technology into a whole-school Inclusion Strategy as a tangible, effective and evidence-based strategy to remove barriers in real time, while maintaining learner challenge and building independence
• How technology can strengthen universal and targeted provision, creating bridges of consistent support across classrooms, inclusion bases and interventions

• Understand the principles of a whole-school approach to SEND
• Explore practical strategies for developing inclusive classroom practice
• Examine how leadership teams can strengthen SEND across all areas of school life
• Identify approaches to building staff confidence and capability

• Identify how PSHE can move from content delivery to a main driver in your inclusion strategy

• Practical strategies to create strong peer relationships and address the needs of SEND learners

• Build teacher confidence and create safe discussion spaces with the Life Lessons Inclusion Framework

Mari Davis, Senior Policy and Public Affairs Officer, NASS (National Association of Special Schools)

Hannah Sheridan, Senior SEND Advisor

Lucy Pelling, Head of Assessment Centre, Outreach and Development, Moon Hall Assessment Centre

Jane Green MBE, Founder/ Chair, SEDSConnective - The UK Hypermobility Neurodivergence Charity

This panel will be discussing the next phase of SEND and Alternative Provision reform and examining what successful implementation should look like for schools, local authorities and families. Panellists will debate the opportunities and challenges presented by national reform, the future of statutory support, accountability measures and how the sector can ensure that policy translates into improved experiences for children and young people.

Laura will introduce the five evidence-based foundations behind the myHappymind approach, drawn from neuroscience and positive psychology and independently evaluated by the Centre for Mental Health (May 2026). She will share what changed for children with SEND on the ground. In Bury, primary schools with 20% or more pupils with SEN using myHappymind cut persistent absence by 2.44 percentage points between 2021/22 and 2024/25, compared with just 0.33 percentage points in schools with similar SEN levels not using the programme, a reduction 7.5 times faster. In Portsmouth, myHappymind schools saw an 83% lower rise in suspensions, 20% against 118% elsewhere, and a 50% lower rise in severe persistent absence than schools without the programme (2025).

SENCOs, headteachers and SEN specialists leave with evidence-based ways to help children with SEND feel they belong, ready to take straight back into their own inclusion strategy.

• Define resilience and understand how it helps us overcome setbacks and challenges
• Recognise the importance of taking opportunities, even when they seem outside their comfort zone
• Understand how a positive mindset and determination can influence personal success
• Challenge perceptions of disability and appreciate the value of diversity and inclusion
• Reflect on how adversity can build character, confidence and resilience

Consider three case studies of impactful practice - Belong, Thrive, Achieve

Vasilis Strogilos, Associate Professor, Inclusive Education, SEND, University of Southampton

Hannah Lovegrove Campion, Head of SEND, Independent Schools Association

Jane Green MBE, Founder/ Chair, SEDSConnective - The UK Hypermobility Neurodivergence Charity

This panel will be discussing how schools and trusts can develop effective provision for children and young people with increasingly complex needs. Drawing on experiences from mainstream, specialist and independent settings, panellists will explore workforce development, specialist expertise, inclusion bases, early intervention and practical approaches to improving outcomes through high-quality provision.

• Examine the latest evidence on the effectiveness of inclusion bases
• Explore how inclusion bases  can support greater inclusion within mainstream education
• Consider whether inclusion bases acts as a pathway to participation, a safe space, or both
• Identify practical strategies for developing inclusive, evidence-informed specialist provision that improves outcomes for children and young people with SEND

This session will explore the principles of adaptive teaching and how teachers can use them to create inclusive classrooms where all pupils can access, participate in and succeed in learning. Drawing on research relating to language development, executive functioning and memory, participants will consider practical approaches to supporting engagement, vocabulary acquisition, comprehension and writing development for pupils with a range of starting points. The session will discuss why traditional differentiation approaches have often had limited impact and what can be done instead within the realities of a busy classroom. Through reflection on common pitfalls and barriers to learning across curriculum subjects, attendees will explore evidence-informed strategies that reduce cognitive load, scaffold learning effectively and promote pupil independence.