SEND Teaching Strategies for an Inclusive Classroom

Approximately 17% of pupils in England have identified special educational needs, and every classroom teacher is a teacher of SEND students. The SEND Code of Practice (2015) establishes a graduated approach: Assess, Plan, Do, Review.

Understanding this framework is essential — but what really matters is how you translate it into daily classroom practice.

The most effective SEND strategies are actually just good teaching. They benefit all students, not just those with identified needs:

• Clear, consistent routines — Reduces anxiety for students with ASD, ADHD, and attachment difficulties
• Visual support — Learning walls, graphic organisers, and visual timetables support processing and memory
• Chunking instructions — Break complex tasks into manageable steps
• Multi-sensory teaching — Use visual, auditory, and kinaesthetic approaches
• Pre-teaching vocabulary — Give students key terms before the lesson so they can access content more easily

Teaching assistants are your most valuable resource for supporting SEND students, but research (including the Deployment and Impact of Support Staff project) shows that poorly deployed TAs can actually widen the attainment gap.

Best practices:

• Share lesson plans and learning objectives with TAs in advance
• Brief the TA on their specific role for each lesson
• Avoid Velcro-ing a TA to one student — this can create dependency
• Use TAs to deliver pre-teaching or intervention programmes (e.g., Precision Teaching)
• Include TAs in planning and review meetings

Assessment should help you understand what a student knows and can do — not create artificial barriers:

• Offer alternative ways to demonstrate understanding (verbal, visual, practical)
• Provide additional time for processing
• Use scaffolded assessments with worked examples alongside
• Assess against individual targets (EHCP outcomes) as well as whole-class objectives
• Celebrate progress, not just attainment

If a student has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), you have legal obligations. Know:

• The student’s specific outcomes and the provision specified in Section F
• Your role in delivering the educational elements of the plan
• When the annual review is due and how to contribute evidence
• Who the student’s key contacts are (SENCo, external professionals, parents)

If you’re unsure about any aspect of an EHCP, speak to your SENCo. Non-compliance is a legal issue, not just a professional one.