
SEND Developmental Peer Review
Supporting mainstream schools to improve their practice for pupils with SEND
There is an urgent need to improve the quality of SEND provision in mainstream schools; the children cannot wait for system reform. Our SEND Developmental Peer Review enables schools to benchmark their SEND provision, reap the benefits of collaborative peer support, and access high-quality experiential learning to drive whole school improvements in SEND practice.
Overview
Developed with global expert David Bartram OBE and experienced practitioners from the 100+ specialist schools in our partnership, the SEND Developmental Peer Review is carefully designed to support schools in establishing and enacting impactful next steps to enhance their SEND provision.

The approach
Schools examine their current practice with support from peer SENCOs and school leaders, guided by an expert Lead Facilitator with their own SEND expertise to share.
Participants work in carefully matched trios or quads, creating a trusted network of peers beyond their locality. Colleagues share expertise, co-create solutions and address common challenges in a supportive, honest and constructive environment. They celebrate and share areas of strength, and push forward areas for development.
Structured self-evaluation using the EvaluateMySchool platform enables schools to identify what’s working, pinpoint development areas, and create a review day structure tailored to their needs - all with coaching and support from their Lead Facilitator.
Immersive SEND peer review days enable visiting SENCos and school leaders to observe strong practice through learning walks, pupil voice and review team reflection discussions, inspiring new ideas and improvements to take back to their own settings.
The headteacher (or member of SLT responsible for inclusion) and SENCo of each school attend all programme activities together, including every SEND peer review day. This fosters strong relationships between schools in each trio/quad, and provides precious protected time for the headteacher/senior leader and SENCo to work closely together so that learnings from the programme can be integrated into their whole school policies and practices.
“We launched the SEND Developmental Peer Review in January 2024 and had a fantastic uptake – almost double our planned number of schools. This really shows how timely this programme is.”
Dame Sue John Executive Director, Challenge Partners
The SEND Developmental Peer Review offers you:

Insights
High quality, supportive, honest and open discussions with peers around areas of SEND strength and challenge, with the opportunity to collaborate on common challenges and develop tailored approaches and solutions

Train
Ring-fenced time for SEND, including precious time for the SENCo to work with their own headteacher (or someone else from their SLT) to gain ideas, reflect on their own practice, and gain clarity on how to move their SEND strategy forwards

Connect
Opportunities to be immersed within other schools, see good practice in action through learning walks, discussions with pupils and tailored learning activities

Gain inspiration
Structured self-evaluation, action planning and progress monitoring of your approach to SEND using the EvaluateMySchool platform, which also guides the agenda for visit days

Enhance
Support throughout the year from expert Lead Facilitators, who guide discussions, signpost effective practice and share high quality resources

"Very supportive, open group. We were able to see so much in action and ask lots of questions. So many ideas to take away."
Claire Bennett, Headteacher, Woodside Primary School