Special educational needs and disabilities, or SEND for short, covers a wide range of difficulties that can affect a child or young person’s ability to learn. This could relate to their behaviour, reading and writing skills, physical abilities, social skills and much more besides. 

Well before COVID-19 emerged, and perhaps even more so since the pandemic began, almost every major news story about SEND has used the same word to describe the current situation: ‘crisis’. 

So what has caused so many parents, teachers, headteachers and policy experts to talk about a crisis in special needs provision? What is happening, or not happening, to generate such widespread concerns? And what problems does the government now need to solve in their long-awaited review of SEND, due to be published in the coming weeks? 

To help us understand the current challenges facing schools and families, and what could potentially be done about it, we are joined by two guests who have years of experience working in and around the special needs system. 

Marijke Miles is a headteacher at a special school and is chair of the SEND Council at the National Association of Headteachers 

And Barney Angliss is a special needs and disability consultant and a former Special Needs coordinator and local authority Special Needs manager. 

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