Choosing the right SEND provision

With the government committing to significant investment in the SEND sector, the direction of travel is becoming clearer: more pupils should be supported in mainstream settings wherever possible, alongside targeted expansion of specialist provision for those with the most complex needs.

Recent guidance on inclusion bases reinforces this shift, setting out how mainstream schools will be expected to play a greater role in delivering targeted SEND support on-site, rather than relying solely on specialist placements.

For responsible bodies, this means thinking less about individual projects, and more about how your estate supports a continuum of provision – from inclusive mainstream environments, through targeted interventions, to specialist settings where required.

Specialist provision remains essential – but increasingly as the end point of that continuum, not the default starting position.

In this article, we explore a range of SEND schemes we’ve delivered, and how different approaches can support this evolving model.

Inclusion base within a mainstream school

We recently delivered a new inclusion base at the mainstream Boulevard Academy in Hull. The modular building provides targeted provision for up to 25 pupils, enabling them to remain within a mainstream setting while accessing additional support.

This approach demonstrates how existing school sites can be adapted quickly to respond to emerging demand, without the need for large-scale new build.

Advantages to this approach:

  • Supports pupils within their local mainstream school wherever appropriate
  • Relatively quick to deliver and cost-effective
  • can be tailored to specific cohort needs

What is critical to success:
Design quality. Layout, acoustics, lighting and access to breakout space all play a key role in ensuring provision supports pupils effectively – not just physically accommodates them.

An image of a timber clad modular building with ramps up to it providing a dedicated SEND unit at Boulevard Academy

New mainstream school with inclusion base provision 

At Broadacre Primary School in Hull, we delivered a new-build mainstream school including a purpose-built inclusion base (often referred to as a resource base) for pupils with autism spectrum conditions.

Located at the heart of the school, the inclusion base allows pupils to access mainstream learning where appropriate, while also benefiting from a more bespoke environment designed around their needs.

Advantages to this approach: 

  • Embeds inclusion within the core design of the school
  • Provides flexibility to respond to a range of needs
  • Supports integration, rather than separation

This model reflects the direction set out in recent guidance – where provision is intentionally designed as part of the mainstream environment, rather than added later.

Integrating mainstream and specialist provision

At Hob Moor, we supported the co-location of a mainstream school and a special school on the same site. By remodelling surplus mainstream space, we were able to create new SEND provision tailored for pupils with autism, alongside wider improvements to shared facilities.

This included rethinking dining areas, circulation space and drop-off arrangements to better support pupils’ sensory and access needs.

Advantages to this approach:

  • Maximises use of existing estate
  • Responds to changing pupil demographics
  • Supports greater collaboration between mainstream and specialist settings

Critically, this type of model supports a more fluid pathway between different types of provision, rather than fixed or isolated settings.

A remodelled SEND classroom at Hob Moor School in York, showing play activities, brightly coloured items and SEND-specific items

Expanding capacity within a special school

Ganton Special School is one of the city’s most popular specialist settings and had exceeded its designed capacity. We delivered additional classrooms on site, creating up to 20 extra places and introducing quiet rooms to support a wider range of needs.

Advantages to this approach:

  • Delivers additional specialist places quickly
  • Builds on existing expertise and established provision
  • Enables a broader range of needs to be supported

Within the wider system, this type of expansion plays an important role in ensuring that pupils with more complex needs can access the specialist environments they require.

A sensory room in a SEND school

Purpose-built special school 

We are currently working on plans for a new special school in Hull, which will cater for 125 pupils with severe physical and/or learning difficulties.

The design includes specialist teaching spaces, therapy areas and facilities such as a hydrotherapy pool, all tailored to the specific needs of the cohort.

Advantages to this approach:

  • Provides highly specialised environments designed around complex needs
  • Supports delivery of integrated education, health and care provision
  • Creates long-term capacity within the local system

As demand continues to grow, these settings will remain essential – particularly where needs cannot be met within mainstream environments.

An artist's impression of what Willowfield SEND School will look like, a low white building with trees outside.

While each of these examples responds to a specific local need, together they highlight a wider point: effective SEND provision is not delivered through a single type of scheme, but through a balanced system of provision across the estate. Those that take a strategic view – planning across this continuum – will be better placed to respond to evolving expectations and funding opportunities.

If you’re considering how best to deliver SEND provision across your estate – whether through inclusion bases, refurbishment, expansion or new build – the education experts at Sewell Advisory can help you develop the right approach for your context.

If you need help to define or bring your SEND plans to life, get in touch.