SEND

Supporting leaders to drive change in the SEND system

SEND reform is the key issue facing the sector and KALE will work to ensure that the community of education leaders can inform and shape the local change and get the support needed to implement it. 
  
As school leaders we are at the front edge of leading change in the education system. We have been shaping inclusion strategies and will continue to lead future changes in the mainstream and specialist sectors.   
  
This is a priority shared across the whole education system, nationally and locally. As a local community, we will continue to work to ensure that all leaders in all schools are supported as they implement change.

What KALE does on behalf of the sector includes:

SEND and Inclusion Working Group 
Over the past few years, this group has become a key forum for sector-wide conversation about SEND Reform. Colleagues from mainstream and special schools, SRPs and PRUs come together to identify and discuss the key challenges they face and to propose solutions and keep each other up to date on rapid changes. Representatives from KCC’s Inclusion teams attend regularly to share planning and gather feedback on proposals. Regular dialogue between the Chair and KCC senior officers and members ensures that the questions and concerns of schools are clearly known. 
 
Dialogue with policymakers 
In line with KALE’s core mission to represent the views of education leaders, colleagues engage in regular dialogue with representatives from KCC and DfE to ensure that the voice of those who lead schools in Kent is clearly articulated. On behalf of the whole KALE community, colleagues ask questions, seek clarification, explain the likely impact of proposed changes on pupils and school staff and request evidence of progress and impact. At all times we do this as a unified sector, representing both mainstream and special schools and in partnership with KSENT. These conversations are not always easy, and we do not always succeed in achieving the solution leaders have sought, but we persevere and seek to build relationships through which we are honest, constructive and at all times focused on the needs of our pupils.  
 
Representation on oversight groups in Kent   
Another way that the voice of education leaders is part of the local debate is through membership of key oversight bodies. KALE and KSENT colleagues have represented the sector on a variety of strategic bodies in recent years and currently sit on the SEND Partnership Board. They have brought the views of school and college leaders into those conversations, helped to build understanding of the impact of specific proposals on schools, and sought evidence-based strategies. 
  
Consultations 
Whenever there is a consultation, local or national, on matters relating to SEND, KALE has created opportunities for colleagues to talk to each other. Complex documents are distilled and the implications of proposals discussed. For those unable to join the conversation we share key points with the whole community. We do this so that colleagues can formulate their own thinking and make informed responses to the consultations. We also collate the views expressed in these meetings and submit them as a collective response. 
 
Our objectives for 2026/27 include: 

1. Ensure that education leaders are supported in the complex challenge of implementing significant change. 
2. Ensure strong and effective involvement of education leaders in the development, monitoring and evaluation of the emerging Kent Local Area SEND Reform Plan. 
3. Use additional methods for capturing the questions, concerns and feedback of leaders. 
4. Regularly provide clear information to the sector about the conversations and issues discussed by the Working Group and with KCC and DfE. 

Further objectives are likely to be added once the Local SEND Reform Plan is determined.

To find out more about what is already in place, what is developing and plans for the future, please see Project Plan and Progress below.