The Big SEND Conversation:

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The Big SEND Conversation

Who this research is for

We are inviting contributions from everyone involved in delivering or supporting children’s SEND services, including but not limited to:

• Local Authority teams
• Education settings (schools, colleges, early years)
• Health organisations
• Partner agencies and commissioned services

We welcome input from permanent staff, agency workers, and independent practitioners. Because roles and responsibilities vary, some questions will tailor automatically to reflect your area of work.

Focus Groups

In addition to the survey, a series of focus groups will be held in the new year. These sessions will explore themes emerging from the survey in more depth, enabling richer discussion and insight.

To help ensure a broad and balanced view, we will be inviting participants from a range of professional groups, including:

• Casework and assessment roles
• Educational Psychology
• Therapy professions (e.g., speech and language therapy, occupational therapy).

We plan to run two groups for each of these areas, to allow differing schedules, lasting an hour each. Invitations will be shared through organisational networks and communications, and participation will be entirely voluntary.

Why we are doing this

Across the UK, SEND services are facing increasing demand and rising complexity. The government has recognised the need for significant reform, with a White Paper expected in early 2026 that will shape the future of the system.

This research is being carried out with the workforce- not to the workforce. By listening directly to practitioners and partners across all settings, we can build a clearer picture of what is working well, where challenges lie, and what support is needed to help services thrive.

What this work builds on

This programme builds on a growing body of local and national evidence that highlights the vital role of the workforce in delivering positive outcomes for children, young people and families. It also follows the insights gathered through The Big Listen, which surfaced important themes about the experiences and pressures faced by those working in children’s services.

The Big SEND Conversation takes this learning further by focusing specifically on the SEND workforce and by bringing a London-wide perspective to the discussion. By combining new data with what we already know, this programme aims to ensure that workforce insights meaningfully inform regional improvement activity and contribute to national conversations about future reform.

Read the full Big Listen Report here

Project Goals

Through the survey and focus groups, we aim to:

• Develop a shared, robust evidence base on the realities of working in SEND across London.
• Identify barriers and enablers to recruitment, wellbeing, development and retention.
• Strengthen multi-agency understanding and collaboration.
• Ensure workforce insights directly shape the priorities of the regional SEND Workforce Programme.
• Provide clear, representative feedback to central government to inform upcoming reforms.

What you need to know:

• When will the survey be released? The survey is now open! The information collated will be anonymised and not attributed to any individual.
• When can I book onto a focus group? Dates and booking information for focus group can be found in the links provided. Choose the one that best fits you.
• Who is the survey for? We want to hear from local authority employed social workers, social work managers, social work students, AYSE social workers, agency social workers and managers
• Why it matters? This research will be directly shared with Central Government to influence national reform, highlighting the workforce as our greatest asset and enabler.

The information collated will be anonymised and not attributed to any individual