£3.7m to redesign Cornwall schools around SEND children

For years, parents of children with SEND in Cornwall have travelled miles for support, waited months for it, and fought for help that should have been there from the start. A new funding package sets out what they can expect from their local school instead.

Children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in Cornwall will benefit from over £3.7 million to create what the government is calling inclusive schools, where pupils can attend their local school, early years setting or college and know they belong there. The exact figure for the county is £3,787,447.

Where the money comes from

The investment is part of the government’s Inclusive Mainstream Fund, with more than £500 million allocated nationally this year. It is intended to help settings invest in high-quality adaptive teaching, whole-school approaches and evidence-based support for children with SEND.

Alongside the funding, the government has released what it describes as first-of-its-kind guidance on creating dedicated teaching and support spaces, with the aim of ending a postcode lottery that has left some Cornwall families fighting for the right support.

A dedicated base in every secondary school

For the first time, new guidance sets out what families in Cornwall can expect to see on the ground. It builds on a commitment that every secondary school will have an inclusion base, a dedicated space providing targeted teaching and specialist support for pupils who need it.

Cornwall’s inclusion bases will be run by a qualified teacher and never used as a sanction. They are designed to give access to an adapted, broad and ambitious curriculum, acting as a bridge to school life rather than a barrier to it. The intention is more time for children in mainstream classes alongside their friends, and an end to patchy provision where pupils are left out of lessons, trips or activities.

Buildings shaped around the child

The bases sit alongside a wider overhaul of physical spaces, including classrooms, through new Inclusive Estates guidance covering mainstream schools, early years settings and further education providers.

The guidance sets out how settings can adapt buildings around the real experience of a child or young person with SEND. That might mean starting the day through an alternative entrance or taking time out in a calmer space. It suggests tools such as structured walkthroughs or “Day in the Life” approaches to identify where a child struggles to navigate a building, and points to tangible changes including adapting acoustics and lighting, introducing quiet spaces such as sensory gardens, and installing ramps or handrails.

What the results show elsewhere

Where high-quality inclusion bases already exist, the outcomes are strong. Eight in ten parents who want their child to attend a base report a positive experience.

In Sheffield, autistic pupils access up to 100% of mainstream lessons with tailored support, and every pupil from the base has gone on to education, employment or training after leaving. In Nottinghamshire, 80% of pupils accessing a base achieve strong passes in GCSE Maths and English. In Oxfordshire, pupils who previously struggled to attend school at all are now averaging 93% attendance.

What Cornwall’s MPs say

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “Every child and young person deserves to feel included, without fighting for the support they need to succeed. We are giving schools a clear, practical blueprint to become truly inclusive, from calmer classrooms and sensory-friendly spaces, to specialist support embedded right in the heart of the school, so children can learn alongside their peers rather than miles from home. Every child deserves to attend a school where they belong, where the environment works for them, and where the right support is simply part of the school day. That’s what we’re building.”

Anna Gelderd, MP for South East Cornwall, said: “I really welcome this clear guidance, which is backed by a significant investment for our area. Providing parents with easy-to-understand information about what they can expect for their child, whilst supporting schools with the right funding, will make great progress in supporting our young people with SEND in South East Cornwall. I’ve been making the case for more SEND provision in our area, meeting with local families and educators at my SEND roundtable to hear more from them about what we need.”

Jayne Kirkham, MP for Truro and Falmouth, said: “This guidance and funding for SEND provision in schools is very welcome. Schools in Truro and Falmouth are working hard on making their own provision and this will provide much-needed support.”

Noah Law, MP for St Austell and Newquay, said: “I’m delighted to see this investment coming into inclusive schools in Cornwall. Time and again, parents tell me straight: we need investment in our SEND system, and we need to tackle these issues from both angles, providing specialist provision alongside inclusive spaces within mainstream schools.”

What happens next

The inclusion bases guidance was developed with the Council for Disabled Children and nasen, drawing on input from over 500 schools, more than 20 local authorities, 34 children and young people, and 30 parents and carers.

Schools will be required to publish an Inclusion Strategy on their website by 31 December 2026, which the government says will reassure parents that their child’s school is prioritising inclusion. Wider reforms are set to be taken forward through the Education for All Bill, subject to the outcome of a consultation, including a proposed new legal duty to put an Individual Support Plan in place for every child and young person with SEND.