Current Trends in SEND Education: What Parents and Teachers Should Know in 2025.

1. Universal Design for Learning (UDL): inclusive by design

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is increasingly embraced by schools, encouraged through NASENS’s CPD on Demand programmes and featured at NASEN  LIVE 2025 in July in Birmingham (Whole School SEND). This framework emphasises flexible teaching that benefits every learner - offering multiple means of engagement, representation and expression. UDL helps shift from reactive adjustments to proactively designing lessons that support neurodiversity, autism, ADHD and others by default.

2. Exam Access Arrangements & Assistive Technology

Assistive technologies play a pivotal role in exam accessibility. Under JCQ regulations, digital tools such as Read&Write (Everway/Texthelp), which functions as a computer reader, scribe and word‑processor, are fully compliant as long as they reflect a student’s normal way of working.  Read more about Ever Way and Read & Write HERE

Read&Write enables:

• Text‑to‑speech reading of exam content

• Dictation features replacing a human scribe

• Screenshot reading for embedded text in diagrams

CENMAC and EVERWAY. This evolution gives students independence and reduces cost for schools, while ensuring strict compliance with JCQ.

3. Mental Health: urgent emphasis and evolving support

A renewed focus on mental health is now embedded in SEND provision. England’s Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Implementation Programme aims for every school to have a trained Senior Mental Health Lead by 2025, and more widespread deployment of Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) to offer early intervention in emotional wellbeing and mild‑moderate conditions 

Yet services remain under‑resourced - CAMHS reports highlight long waiting times and serious distress in families, with many children waiting for support. NHS statistics show nearly half a million children and young people are in contact with mental health services, including those with learning disabilities and autism NHS England Digital.

Organisations such as NSPCC, Childline and WHO/UNICEF stress early detection, whole‑child care and safeguarding support, including in SEND contexts. Transforming children and young people’s mental health provision.

4. Systemic pressures & funding realities

Across England, SEND demand continues to rise sharply. The count of EHCPs has more than doubled from around 240,000 in 2015 to nearly 576,000 by 2024, primarily driven by autism, ADHD, social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs, along with speech and communication needs. Read more at National Education Union. Despite high‑needs funding rising over 58%, local authority deficits are mounting, with some budgets projected to exceed £3–4 billion by early 2026 Nasen Audit.

5. International trends & best‑practice exchange

Globally, WHO and UNICEF guidelines urge schools and communities to embed mental health services, protect rights, and integrate education with healthcare, social work and safeguarding interventions as detailed at World Health Organisation. Countries are increasingly adopting models where community‑based mental health support sits within or alongside schools, creating joined‑up networks that mirror MHSTs in the UK.

International research also emphasises the importance of equitable SEND identification - recent UK studies highlight a “lottery” effect, where referral rates differ widely between schools and local authorities as outlined in the Education Policy Institute. Lessons from abroad underline the benefits of standard training in neurodevelopment for all educators to reduce variability and ensure equitable support.

Why This Matters: Practical Takeaways

For Educators

• Invest in training around UDL principles and embed them in lesson planning. NASEN’s SEND CPD and webinars on Universal Classroom Provision offer practical frameworks. 

• Be familiar with assistive technologies like Read&Write and ensure they align with JCQ’s Access Arrangements process. SENCo and exams officers must document students' normal way of working. 

• Prioritise mental health proactively by working with MHSTs and building whole‑school wellbeing cultures; inclusive of staff wellbeing initiatives. 

For Parents & Carers

• Advocate for early assessment where cognitive or emotional needs arise. Ensure your child’s ‘normal way of working’ is documented in school so any required access arrangements reflect real need.

• Monitor mental health support timelines - CAMHS services are stretched and waiting lists persist; escalate unmet needs via the school SENCo or safeguarding leads.

• Seek community and voluntary sector support (e.g. Childline, NSPCC), especially while awaiting formal clinical input.

In Summary

SEND education in 2025 is shaped by a concerted shift towards proactive inclusion, assistive technology, mental health integration and systemic vigilance. Universal Design for Learning is advancing teaching that works for all pupils. Assistive tools like Read&Write empower independence in exams. Meanwhile, mental health support is increasingly central, though still under strain. Rising SEND demand and equity challenges demand policy attention; coupled with educator training to ensure consistent support.

By staying informed and working collaboratively, parents and schools can navigate these trends with compassion and effectiveness—enabling children with SEND to thrive.

Ian Edwards

iSEND Consultancy