Our director of SEND and safeguarding contributes to recent Tes article

Our Director of SEND and Safeguarding, Nicole Dempsey, has contributed powerfully to the ongoing national conversation around the future of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision, as part of a high-profile parliamentary inquiry.

Nicole shared her thoughts against reducing referrals or raising the threshold for Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) in a recent Tes article, saying such measures would only address the “symptom and not the cause” of the crisis currently gripping the SEND system.

“I worry that any attempt to reduce the number of referrals being made, or to raise the threshold for EHCPs, is trying to manage a symptom and not the cause." Nicole said.

Nicole highlighted the urgent need for more comprehensive support within the mainstream school system. She argued that improving guidance for schools and enhancing access to services would help prevent pressure building at the more specialist end of the provision spectrum.

“Strengthening the foundations, through better support services, clearer expectations, and early intervention would have the knock-on effect of protecting that specialist layer for the children who truly need it,” she said.

The evidence session, one of the final stages of the committee’s long-running SEND inquiry, also heard from other school leaders and national researchers. The wide-ranging discussion addressed systemic concerns, including the chaotic nature of SEND identification in schools, growing delays in EHCP processing, and the unintended consequences of past education reforms. Read the article here.

Nicole's evidence forms part of a broader call for systemic change, not superficial fixes. At Dixons Academies Trust, inclusion is not just a policy, it is a principle embedded in every part of our trust.