Beyond the Classroom Door: True Inclusion for Every Child.

In 1978, Mary Warnock published what became known as the Warnock Report, a landmark review of how schools support children with special educational needs (SEN). It introduced the idea that children with additional needs should, where possible, be taught alongside their peers rather than in separate schools.

This was a huge step forward at the time. But Warnock warned that putting children into mainstream schools was not enough on its own. She stressed that children need to be included in every sense, not just sitting in a classroom but truly participating in learning and school life.

More than 40 years later, I still see children who are physically present in school but excluded in every other way.

When Being There Isn’t the Same as Belonging

Being “present but not included” can look like a child spending most of the day in a corridor or a side room because the classroom is too overwhelming. It can mean a child sitting next to a 1:1 support worker but not being involved in the same activities as the rest of the class. It can mean going through an entire school day without producing any meaningful work, even though they are capable.

This is not because schools do not care. It is because the system often does not give them the tools, resources, or training to make inclusion work. As Warnock put it, this is the “velcro model”, children stuck to the school physically but not actually learning or feeling part of their community.

A System That Still Feels Broken

Warnock described the system as “confused, costly and counterproductive”. Sadly, this still feels true today. The Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) process, designed to secure support for children with complex needs, is struggling. Local authorities can delay assessments, withhold funding, and even fail to meet legal deadlines, often with no consequences.

This leaves schools in an impossible position. They are legally required to deliver what is in an EHCP, but if funding is delayed for months, they cannot put proper support in place. This is not about blaming schools; they are often just as frustrated as families are.

Teacher Training and SENCO Support

Warnock pushed for better teacher training so that SEN could be identified and supported early. Over four decades later, teachers still tell me they feel underprepared to meet children’s needs. SENCOs (special educational needs co-ordinators) can begin the job before completing their training. Training has to be completed within 3 years of taking up their post. That means some schools may have a revolving door of SENCOs who are still not fully trained and equipped for the role, which does not give children the consistency they deserve.

The Problem with “Inclusion at Any Cost”

Warnock supported inclusion but recognised that mainstream school does not suit every child. She notes that for some children, particularly those with high levels of anxiety or autism, a specialist setting can provide a calmer environment where they are less likely to face bullying or emotional harm.

Today, many families still have to fight to access these specialist placements. Some children wait months or even years while out of school, simply because the right support is not available. Parents worry that the threshold for accessing specialist support will become even higher in the future, making an already difficult process even harder.

The Pressure to Perform

Schools face immense pressure to meet academic targets, and this can sometimes come at the expense of children’s wellbeing. It can feel as if the government values exam results above everything else. The wellbeing of children does not seem to be the priority it should be.

I also worry that the academisation of schools might be making this worse. SENCOs working in academies have told me that although funding figures from the local authority look high, by the time the academy takes its share there is very little left to support children with SEN. Yet the school is still expected to meet their needs. One SENCO told me earlier this year that she felt completely broken. She could not get more funding because the local authority believed they had already given the school enough, she could not request more without proving that she had spent the previous payment, yet she could not prove that the money had been spent on SEN because she had only received a small part of the money that was given. An impossible situation for her.

Wellbeing Must Come First

Warnock was clear that children cannot learn if their emotional wellbeing is not supported. Today, more children than ever are experiencing anxiety and school refusal is rising. NHS figures from 2023 to 2024 showed that more than 500 children a day in England were referred to mental health services for anxiety. That number does not even capture children who never get referred.

If we want children to thrive, we must prioritise how they feel in school as much as what they achieve academically.

Moving Forward

Things have improved since Warnock’s report. There is more awareness of SEN now and schools are working hard to make adjustments. But many of the concerns Warnock raised are still with us. We need a system that does more than place children in a classroom and hope for the best.

True inclusion means that every child feels safe, supported and able to learn. We owe it to these children more than anything, and also to the families, teachers and schools who are doing their best with the resources they have, to make that a reality.