The new SEN White Paper is a good thing in one key way: it admits what most people working in education already know — something has to change.
But here’s the uncomfortable truth. We can write page after page of policy, guidance, and frameworks, yet still ignore one of the simplest, most effective levers we have: small class sizes.
If we’re serious about inclusion, outcomes, and keeping teachers in the profession, we have to stop pretending that putting pupils with SEND into classes of 30+ is “support”. Too often, it’s just survival.
Inclusion shouldn’t mean “everyone squeezed into the same room”
Picture a typical classroom of 30 pupils. Now add one adult. Even when a child has an EHCP, and the paperwork says they’re entitled to 1:1 support, the reality is often very different. That “1:1” becomes a teaching assistant trying to plug gaps across the whole room, because the need is bigger than the staffing.
So we end up with what many teachers experience daily: one staff member and 30 different learning profiles.
It’s not fair on pupils with SEND — or pupils without
When a class is overloaded, everyone loses. For pupils with SEND, the environment can become overwhelming. Sensory overload, constant transitions, and limited adult attention can turn school into a daily stress response.
That’s not inclusion. That’s a system asking children to carry the weight of under-resourcing.
The “wobble” problem
Here’s a simple example. A teacher spots a pupil starting to wobble — dysregulated, anxious, close to meltdown. The teacher does the right thing and spends a minute calming them down. In that one minute, 29 other pupils are without direct support.
That isn’t because the teacher isn’t skilled. It’s because 30 pupils is too many for one adult to meet needs properly.
What small class sizes make possible
As an Alternative Provision working with pupils who have EHCPs, EBSA, and complex SEMH needs, we see the impact of small class sizes every day.
That’s how attendance grows. That’s how pupils re-engage. That’s how qualifications become realistic. That’s how young people start looking forward again.
Sensory rooms are great — but what if we also built teaching space?
We’re seeing money allocated for schools to improve environments: sensory rooms, calm spaces, wellbeing areas. That’s positive. But what if some of that investment also created more teaching space, so schools could run smaller classes?
If we want inclusion to work, we need the conditions for it
The SEN White Paper is right that something needs to happen. But inclusion isn’t achieved by placing pupils with SEND into large classes and hoping for the best. Inclusion is achieved when schools have the conditions to meet needs — and small class sizes are one of the biggest conditions of all.
If we want better attendance, better outcomes, and better wellbeing for pupils and staff, we need to stop treating small class sizes like a luxury. For many pupils — and many teachers — it’s the difference between coping and thriving.