The pop pop studio newsletter Every child achieving and thriving
News and comment on SEND reform, plus what we're learning building Belong, Placid, and Spoke.
I send it when I've got something worth saying, not on a schedule. Opt out any time, and I won't sell or share your data.
Past editions
Above all
29 May 2026
A SEND consultant, the SEND deficit, and what mainstream schools actually need to change.
The SEND Local Offer for the next 10 years
22 May 2026
My manifesto for the SEND Local Offer website, on audiences, information architecture, search, and accessibility.
"If we get it wrong, who's accountable, the school or the LA?"
25 March 2026
New legal duties on schools without the funding or clarity to meet them.
£200m SEND and inclusion continuing professional development (CPD)
17 March 2026
The DfE's training market engagement, and 4 questions I want your help answering.
Inclusion bases
10 March 2026
Support Bases and Specialist Bases explained, and whether they mean real inclusion or just tidier segregation.
How we communicate
3 March 2026
The Easy Read version needs a university education to read, and the Targeted/Targeted Plus labels need more precision.
It's here!
24 February 2026
The SEND White Paper and consultation land, with the 39 consultation questions to read before anything else.
17 February 2026
17 February 2026
A personal week, plus reads on inclusion, siloed trusts, and keeping children safe in education.
Huge news, SEND Deficit cancelled*
11 February 2026
The government writes off 90% of councils' SEND deficits, with the small print that matters.
More IMPs, fewer OAPs in schools...
4 February 2026
Why "inclusive mainstream practice" beats "ordinarily available provision", plus early signs from the SEND and AP change programme.
Tuesday 27 January 2026
27 January 2026
Labour leaks, the distribution problem behind the SEND crisis, and Lewis Carroll's birthday.
Tuesday 20 January 2026
20 January 2026
SEND training for teachers and TAs, the government SEND conversation, and Belong.
Monday 12 January 2026
12 January 2026
Bridget Phillipson, the SEND Reform National Conversation, an alternative White Paper, and much more.
