SEND


Reflecting on SEND provision: turning policy into practical inclusion


We hear from SIMON BRADSHAW, Learning Design and Curriculum Specialist, Avantis Education. rather than a responsibility carried by a small number of staff.


As another school year draws to a close, many school leaders will be reflecting on the progress made in SEND provision over the past twelve months.


This year has brought renewed government focus on SEND reform, alongside continued discussion about how schools can create more inclusive learning environments for all learners. As a former primary teacher, I welcome that conversation. Strong guidance and clear frameworks matter.


But as the year ends, I find myself


reflecting less on policy and more on the areas that make inclusion meaningful in practice. For me, one of those is empathy.


When we talk about inclusion, much of the conversation naturally focuses on supporting individual learners. Yet truly inclusive schools are not built solely through interventions, adaptations or support plans. They are built through understanding.


Every day, pupils share classrooms with peers whose experiences of the world may be very different from their own. Some learners may experience sensory overwhelm, struggle with uncertainty or find social situations more challenging to navigate. These experiences are not always visible, which makes understanding them even more important.


I have always believed that teaching the value of empathy is one of the most powerful tools available to educators. Not because it solves every challenge, but because it changes the way we understand one another. When pupils begin to understand that the same classroom can feel very different for their peers, understanding often replaces judgement. Assumptions are challenged. Relationships strengthen. Inclusion becomes something owned by the whole school community


Another area I believe deserves greater attention is around life skills. For many young people with SEND, success extends far beyond academic outcomes. Confidence, independence and the ability to navigate everyday situations can have just as much impact on future opportunities as qualifications.


Yet these skills can often be difficult to teach. Real-world situations are unpredictable, and learners do not always have opportunities to practise them in environments where mistakes feel safe and free from judgement. Whether it’s travelling independently, communicating with unfamiliar people or managing new experiences, confidence is often built through repetition, familiarity and the freedom to try again.


As schools look ahead to September, I believe these two areas – empathy and independence – deserve to sit alongside more traditional measures of success. Both have a profound impact on how learners experience school and on the opportunities available to them beyond the school gates.


There are many ways schools can support this work. Activities such as drama, role-play and the creative arts can help learners explore different perspectives and develop confidence in a supportive environment. Increasingly, immersive technologies such as virtual reality are also providing opportunities for pupils to experience situations, practise skills and better understand the experiences of others.


What matters most is not the tool itself, but the opportunity it creates: a safe space to test out skills without real-world pressures, and a chance to deepen understanding of different experiences and perspectives.


Ultimately, inclusion is not only about ensuring learners can access education. It is about helping every learner feel understood, valued and prepared for the world beyond the classroom.


The sound of music: Wales’ largest SEND school starts first ever orchestra


Ysgol Y Deri in Wales has launched its very first orchestra after seeing remarkable results with an award-winning new inclusive musical instrument and notation system from Digit Music.


Teachers at Ysgol Y Deri in Wales, which caters for hundreds of pupils with a wide range of complex needs, have been blown away by the impact of Digit Music’s innovative CMPSR instruments and Arrownotes notation system.


Ysgol Y Deri – the subject of a BBC Documentary, A Special School – has around 500 pupils and is based in the Vale of Glamorgan. Many pupils have now experienced the joy of making music for the first time thanks to award-winning inclusive instruments conceived, designed and made from an adapted wheelchair joystick by Digit Music. With support from Whizz Kidz Children’s Wheelchair Charity and private donor Julian Morgan the school has now set up its first ever orchestra in which pupils are creating music together using CMPSR devices blended with a range of other instruments. School leaders are using Digit Music’s pioneering Arrownotes notation system that enables teachers with no musical background to deliver engaging and inclusive lessons. They have reported a huge impact on other aspects of learning such as reading and colour identification.


Digit Music owners Si Tew and Owain Wilson are passionate about revolutionising music education with their digital-first approach, enabling children to start playing straight away on their highly intuitive CMPSR devices and accompanying Arrownotes and Swipe systems. Lisa Rees-Renshaw, assistive technology advisory teacher at the school, said: “I was completely blown away when I saw what Digit Music could deliver. What got me the most was not so much the


July/August 2026


technology, because I could see how that would benefit the pupils straight away, but the way that their system meant any teacher could deliver music lessons. I’m not musical. I’ve tried to play and I just can’t, and I can’t read music either.


“But Si from Digit Music was so inspiring in showing us what teachers can do with their Arrownotes system. I just thought: ‘I can do that’. Pupils took to using the equipment so well and they really engaged with it.”


Lisa works with a music therapist to set up Ysgol Y Deri’s first orchestra, creating sheet music using Arrownotes that pupils with a range of needs can follow and deliver.


Having quickly gone from strength to strength, the Every Learners’ Orchestra has several performances under its belt and is next due to appear at a corporate lunch at Cardiff City Football Stadium on July 10. Lisa said: “There are so many children in our school, whether their disabilities are physical or cognitive, who historically, wouldn’t be able to play a traditional instrument, yet by working with Digit Music we’ve opened the door up that says, ‘yes you can’. What we weren’t expecting was the response to it by some of our pupils and the impact it’s had. “This technology-enabled music-making has opened access to the same developmental benefits as traditional instruments, while also adding unique advantages such as accessibility, independence, and creative agency. We are seeing the pupils have increased attention, including shared attention, increase in problem solving skills, confidence and teamwork and a very clear sense of achievement.”


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