Press Release: Schools North East comment on white paper and SEND reform
Mission North East must deliver structural change, not simply raise expectations
Schools North East welcomes the publication of the Government’s Schools White Paper, Every Child Achieving and Thriving, and in particular its recognition that geography shapes educational outcomes.
This is a moment where national policy explicitly acknowledges what schools in the North East have consistently argued: disadvantage is structural, not accidental.
Our Manifesto for North East education has long called for greater recognition of the regional context in tackling long-term deprivation so, whilst the proposal to improve the funding mechanism to better support areas of deep and long-term disadvantage is encouraging, it will be delivery, not rhetoric, that will determine whether these reforms narrow regional divides or entrench them further.
It is also encouraging that the white paper recognises the persistent attainment gap affecting white working-class pupils, and the need for sustained structural intervention. Schools across the region have been highlighting this challenge for years and it is right that it is now targeted and this needs to be done through sustained regional investment, not short-term initiatives.
The structural divide must be addressed
While the White Paper signals welcome structural ambition, moving beyond “schools as islands” towards trusts, local groupings, and shared SEND infrastructure, its framing at times suggests that collaboration and inclusion are not already embedded in practice. In the North East, that is simply not the case. Our schools are leading innovative approaches, using teacher-led research to strengthen literacy and numeracy, and working far beyond the school gates to address attendance, mental health, and wider community challenges.
North East schools are not waiting for reform to collaborate. They are already doing so, often in the face of structural constraints beyond their control. There needs to be greater recognition of the pressures on services around our schools, especially support from health and social care. Initiatives and funding for schools alone will not tackle this divide, it needs to be accompanied by significant investment in regional infrastructure to enable us to turn aspiration into a reality.
Mission North East provides a strategic opportunity
Schools North East welcomes the announcement of Mission North East, which, coupled with proposed changes to deprivation funding, has the potential to become one of the most significant regional education reform initiatives. If properly designed, it could enable our region’s schools, trusts, and services around schools, to shape improvement collectively through locally-led collaboration.
At present, key elements remain under-specified, including the lack of a defined regional delivery mechanism and no published regional funding envelope. Without these foundations, Mission North East risks becoming symbolic rather than structural.
Mission North East must result in genuine structural redesign, not simply increased expectations of schools.
Capacity is the critical test for inclusion
The White Paper announces significant funding for inclusion and SEND reform, including the Inclusive Mainstream Fund and “experts at hand”.
However, much of this model assumes that educational psychologists, therapists, specialist teachers already exist in sufficient numbers to staff inclusion bases, outreach provision and training programmes. The real constraint in the North East is workforce capacity and inclusion reform will only succeed if regional workforce shortages are explicitly addressed. Without targeted regional workforce incentives, specialist capacity will follow labour market strength not need.
Schools North East calls for:
● A clear, measurable plan to close the structural divide between the regions
● Mission North East to be regionally led and co-constructed, not a Whitehall-designed
export;
● Publication of the regional impact assessment of the new deprivation funding model
before final decisions;
● Minimum geographical guarantees for specialist capacity through “experts at hand”;
● A minimum 7–10 year reform commitment to ensure stability and meaningful impact.
Chris Zarraga, Director, Schools North East, said: “This White Paper recognises that geography matters. That is a significant step forward. But recognition must now translate into redistribution, capacity-building and long-term commitment.
“Mission North East and changes to funding focused on long-term deprivation could be the first serious attempt in a generation to address structural educational inequality between regions.
“The North East does not need higher expectations, it already has them, it needs structural conditions that make those expectations achievable. Our schools are already collaborating, innovating and leading for their communities. Reform must build on that strength, not start from the assumption that it doesn’t exist.”