Press Story

IPPR Inclusion Taskforce will be chaired by education leader Geoff Barton
Independent taskforce is being convened by IPPR to develop recommendations for reform of the broken SEND system
Panel will publish recommendations in mid-autumn 2025

A new taskforce has been launched today to review and improve how children and young people with special education needs and disabilities (SEND) are supported across England.

The IPPR Inclusion Taskforce, chaired by Geoff Barton, former general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, will bring together leading experts in education, health and local government to set out a positive new vision with proposals for how the system can be reformed. This comes ahead of a government White Paper expected in autumn that will set out reform proposals.

The group will examine the current state of SEND provision and set out principles that should guide reform of the system to ensure that every child receives the support they need to thrive. Members will be announced in the coming weeks.

One in five children are now identified with special educational needs, equivalent to six children in every classroom. Support for the most complex types of needs – delivered through Education Health and Care Plans – has doubled since 2014. Critics of the current system say it is lose, lose, lose for children, families and professionals. Children with SEND continue to have poor outcomes, the system is adversarial for families and impractical and bureaucratic for professionals to navigate.

Geoff Barton, chair of the IPPR Inclusion Taskforce, said:

“Too many families face a daily struggle to get the right support for their children. This taskforce will bring fresh thinking and a clear focus on delivering the change that’s urgently needed to make our education system work for every child.

“After 15 years leading a state school and then a national education union, I know how complex and challenging the SEND system can be - for families, for schools, and most of all for the children it is supposed to support. Too often, getting the right help takes too long, feels too hard, and leaves young people feeling left out. We must do better on their behalf.

“I am proud to chair this taskforce to help shape a system that works for every child, and to ensure no one is left behind.”

Ellie Harris, IPPR Inclusion Taskforce lead, said:

“We all know a child in our life who is struggling at school – a friend’s kid, a family member, or a colleague’s child – we cannot allow this to continue. Support should not be slow, patchy, and locked behind bureaucratic hurdles. We need meaningful education reform to make sure that all children are supported at school to belong, achieve and thrive.”

ENDS

Geoff Barton is available for interview

Ellie Harris is available for interview

CONTACT

Rosie Okumbe, digital and media officer: 07825 185421 r.okumbe@ippr.org

David Wastell, director of news and communications: 07921 403651 d.wastell@ippr.org

NOTES TO EDITORS

More information about the independent IPPR Inclusion Taskforce, chaired by Geoff Barton, including its terms of reference, is available on IPPR’s website at https://www.ippr.org/articles/ippr-inclusion-taskforce
Geoff Barton was previously an English teacher (for 32 years), headteacher of a Suffolk comprehensive school (for 15 years), and General Secretary of the Association of School & College Leaders (for 7 years). Most recently he chaired the independent Commission for Oracy in Education, designed to promote speaking skills alongside reading, writing and arithmetic as ‘the fourth R’. He was awarded the CBE in the 2025 New Year’s honours list for services to education.
Figures in this press release are drawn from:
1. Department for Education data on Special Educational Needs at https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england/2024-25
2. Children's Commissioner data on children’s mental health at https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/news-and-blogs/press-notice-childrens-commissioner-calls-for-urgent-action-to-tackle-waiting-times-and-inequality-in-mental-health-care-for-children/