SEND lessons for England. There are many strengths in the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) system; however, many countries achieve better outcomes. England could adopt several successful practices.

School refusal is usually due to Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA) or School Distress. These terms recognise that most children are not refusing school out of defiance

Learning Support Assistants (LSAs), also called teaching assistants or classroom support assistants in some schools, play an important role in supporting pupils with additional needs. However, there are both advantages and disadvantages to relying on them.

Finland is still widely respected for its education system, but it has slipped from the very top of many international rankings compared with the early 2000s.

Extra time is given to ensure that the exam measures the student's understanding of the subject rather than the effects of sensory challenges.

Supporting someone with alexithymia often involves helping them navigate emotions in ways that don't rely solely on emotional insight or emotional language.

Alexithymia is a personality trait (not a mental illness by itself) that involves difficulty identifying, understanding, and describing one's own emotions.

NEET means “Not in Education, Employment, or Training.” This is used by governments, researchers, schools, and charities to describe young people between 16–24-year-olds.

Employment discrimination against individuals with autism and disability employment rights in the UK is a significant issue, despite legal protections and increasing awareness.

When children experience big emotions, they don’t automatically know how to manage them. Emotional regulation develops over time, in stages, with support.

Art isn’t just about making something that looks nice—it’s about giving shape to things that are often hard to say out loud—allowing a person to express themselves.

Identifying emotions with the Zone of Regulation Zones of Regulation is a structured framework (often used in schools and with neurodivergent learners) that helps people identify and label their emotional state. This is an educational framework to create awareness of our emotions and build ways to manage them - self-regulate. This was developed by Occupational Therapist Leah Kuypers and introduced in 2011. It can be used in schools and at home. At its core, it breaks feelin

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a chronic mental health condition marked by intrusive, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviours or mental acts (compulsions) performed to relieve distress.

Sensory Processing Disorder SPD isn’t about the senses being “broken”. It’s about the brain having difficulty filtering and organising input in a way that feels manageable.

Feeling overwhelmed means you feel like too much is happening at once, and it’s more than you feel able to handle right now. It’s a mix of emotional, mental, and sometimes physical pressure.

Tourette’s Syndrome (also called Tourette syndrome) is a neurological condition that causes people to have tics that they don’t do on purpose.

Save Our Children's Rights (SOCR) is a UK-based campaign coalition launched in 2025 that defends the legal rights of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

When I began to see the cracks in our own education system, I naturally started to wonder—what are other countries doing differently?

Finding Local Support for carers with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. The powerful impact of talking to others who understand, sharing stories and advice.