The SENDcast

The SEND reforms have generated a lot of discussion – but one significant gap has gone largely unnoticed. Where do specific learning difficulties fit in?
Dale is joined by Louise Selby, a dyslexia specialist, and Janet Goring, an SpLD specialist, for a lively and at times eye-opening conversation about what the shift from four broad areas of need to five areas of development could mean for children with SpLD.
Together, they explore:
Why cognition and learning has disappeared from the new framework – and why this is a significant oversight.
Why dyslexia, dyscalculia, and SpLD maths don't fit neatly into what remains.
Whether a stronger universal offer can really compensate for the absence of a dedicated cognition and learning category.
The important distinction between a diagnosis that unlocks funding and one that tells a child: this is not your fault.
Why quiet children who are struggling but not disruptive have always been at risk of being overlooked – and why the new framework may make this worse.
About Louise Selby
Louise has worked in a number of SEND settings, more recently for 11 years in the advisory service for Specific Learning Difficulties at Hertfordshire Local Authority, before becoming freelance.
Louise's first book, Morph Mastery, a Morphological Intervention for Reading, Spelling and Vocabulary, was published in 2021 by Speechmark (Routledge) in 2021. Her recent two books, "All About Dyslexia, a practical guide for primary/secondary teachers" were published in December 2024 with the same publisher, and her 4th book, Morph Mastery for Small Groups, is in the pipeline.
Louise's passion is in enabling, equipping and empowering staff in schools at grass roots level to meet learners' needs. 
About Janet Goring
Janet Goring worked as a teacher for 25 years, firstly as a primary classroom teacher and Advanced skills teacher for Maths and assessment, before training as a specialist SpLD teacher/assessor and completing a Masters with a focus on supporting number sense through games.
She chaired the SASC (SpLD Assessment Committee) Working Group on Dyscalculia and Maths Difficulties which produced the 2025 guidance on the assessment of Maths Difficulties and Dyscalculia.  
Having retired as Manager of a local authority team of specialist Literacy and Numeracy teachers in 2023, she now focuses on training in maths difficulties for mainstream and specialist teachers.
Where are dyslexia and dyscalculia in the 2026 SEND Reforms?

B Squared Website – www.bsquared.co.uk 
Meeting with Dale to find out about B Squared - https://calendly.com/b-squared-team/overview-of-b-squared-sendcast 
Email Dale – dale@bsquared.co.uk 
Subscribe to the SENDcast - https://www.thesendcast.com/subscribe
The SENDcast is powered by B Squared
We have been involved with Special Educational Needs for over 25 years, helping show the small steps of progress pupils with SEND make. B Squared has worked with thousands of schools, we understand the challenges professionals working in SEND face. We wanted a way to support these hardworking professionals - which is why we launched The SENDcast! Click the button below to find out more about how B Squared can help improve assessment for pupils with SEND in your school.

There are 1.3 million children in this country with developmental language disorder. Most of them are sitting quietly in classrooms going unnoticed.
Today, Dale is joined by Jane Harris, Chief Executive of Speech and Language UK, to discuss DLD, the SEND reforms, and what it really means to ensure no child is left behind. They discuss:
- Why children with DLD are six to ten times more likely to fall behind in core subjects, and twice as likely to be unemployed as adults.
- The deeply problematic link between unidentified speech and language challenges and mental health - and why referring these children to talking therapies without addressing the root cause simply doesn't work.
- Why children with DLD are often invisible in classrooms, quietly masking just as autistic children do - until suddenly they aren't.
- How behaviour policies are failing these children, and why over three-quarters of teachers themselves say children with speech and language challenges are being unfairly punished in schools.
- The government's new oracy framework and what it could mean for identification and support - if it goes far enough.
- Why augmentative and alternative communication technology is life-changing for some children, and why the current commissioning guidance is working against them.
 
About Jane Harris
Jane Harris is Chief Executive of Speech and Language UK, an experienced and energetic charity sector leader with 15 years' experience influencing public policy, building new audiences, and increasing income for third sector organisations including the National Autistic Society, Leonard Cheshire Disability and Rethink Mental Illness.
Throughout her career, Jane has focused on raising the profile of issues that impact people's lives - through influencing public policy, building new audiences and increasing income generation. She has helped to measurably change public perceptions of mental health and autism.
She recently launched Voices for DLD, has been central to the SEND reform consultation with the Department for Education and partners, and has helped guide two schools to Ofsted outstanding ratings.
SEND reform and speech and language challenges
Transforming SEND campaign
DLD resources for educators

 
B Squared Website – www.bsquared.co.uk 
Meeting with Dale to find out about B Squared - https://calendly.com/b-squared-team/overview-of-b-squared-sendcast 
Email Dale – dale@bsquared.co.uk 
Subscribe to the SENDcast - https://www.thesendcast.com/subscribe
The SENDcast is powered by B Squared
We have been involved with Special Educational Needs for over 25 years, helping show the small steps of progress pupils with SEND make. B Squared has worked with thousands of schools, we understand the challenges professionals working in SEND face. We wanted a way to support these hardworking professionals - which is why we launched The SENDcast! Click the button below to find out more about how B Squared can help improve assessment for pupils with SEND in your school.

We will never have true inclusion in our schools while neurodivergent teachers remain hidden.
In this episode, Dale is joined by Chris Benson, founder of Headfirst Consulting and ND Chat, to discuss the neurodivergent teachers in our schools – and why it's a conversation that the profession shouldn't ignore.
Chris was one of the first serving headteachers to publicly disclose his own ADHD diagnosis. The response – hundreds of private messages from educators across the country – spoke volumes about just how many teachers are quietly living with the same experience.
Together, Dale and Chris explore:
– Why around 25% of teachers are estimated to be neurodivergent, yet there is almost no data, no formal recognition, and no consistent support in place for them.
– What it really means to receive a late diagnosis, and why a neurodivergent identity should never become a glass ceiling.
– The gap between awareness and genuine belief – truly believing that a child's behaviour is not a choice – and why this remains one of the biggest challenges in education today.
– Why ADHD doesn't even have its own data category on school management systems, unlike autism.
– What it means for a school to claim inclusion whilst its own neurodivergent staff feel they must mask.
– Why the teaching profession's increasing compliance culture is making it harder – not easier – for all professionals to thrive.
"We will never have true inclusion in schools whilst those in the teaching profession who are neurodivergent themselves remain hidden"
— Chris Benson
 
About Chris Benson
Chris Benson is an education leader, writer and consultant specialising in ADHD, neurodiversity and inclusive systems. With over 25 years in education and more than 15 years in senior leadership—including headship in the UK and leadership roles in leading international schools—he brings deep insight into how schools, organisations and systems enable people to belong, contribute and thrive.

Chris is the founder of Head First Consulting and NDChat. NDChat is a social initiative focused on improving communication between families, educators, and young people. It brings together academics, clinicians, educators and parents to build shared understanding and improve outcomes for neurodivergent individuals.
His work sits at the intersection of behaviour, neurodiversity, mental health and identity, and is grounded in both professional expertise and lived experience as a leader with ADHD and a parent of neurodivergent children.

A published TES author and emerging national voice in education, Chris is known for challenging deficit narratives and advocating for high expectations, agency and system change. His work focuses not on lowering standards, but on redesigning environments so that more people can meet them.
Do neurodivergent teachers get support in schools
Supporting neurodiverse staff
ADHD UK

 
B Squared Website – www.bsquared.co.uk 
Meeting with Dale to find out about B Squared - https://calendly.com/b-squared-team/overview-of-b-squared-sendcast 
Email Dale – dale@bsquared.co.uk 
Subscribe to the SENDcast - https://www.thesendcast.com/subscribe
The SENDcast is powered by B Squared
We have been involved with Special Educational Needs for over 25 years, helping show the small steps of progress pupils with SEND make. B Squared has worked with thousands of schools, we understand the challenges professionals working in SEND face. We wanted a way to support these hardworking professionals - which is why we launched The SENDcast! Click the button below to find out more about how B Squared can help improve assessment for pupils with SEND in your school.

If a school's inclusion strategy depends solely on its SENCO, it simply isn't sustainable – and it isn't working.
In this episode, Dale is joined by Lisa Pinkerton, Head of Education at Widgit Software and former primary school deputy headteacher, to discuss why every school needs a SENCO on its senior leadership team.
Together, Dale and Lisa explore why the SENCO's circle of influence is so often determined not by the SENCO themselves, but by the headteacher and the authority they choose to give. They discuss the very real tension between strategic leadership and the mountain of administrative demands that come with the role, and why inclusion by design – planning for every child's needs from the outset rather than bolting support on afterwards – leads to better outcomes for every single pupil in the school.
"A SENCO with strategic influence can transform the experience of every single child in the school."
— Lisa Pinkerton
 
About Lisa Pinkerton
Lisa Pinkerton is head of education at Widgit Software. 
 
Former primary school teacher and deputy head, Lisa's passion lies in developing personalised learning journeys to meet the specific needs of children with SEND. With a specialism in early years, Lisa spent many years supporting the youngest pupils in primary and could see the transformative effect of meeting children where they are at and giving them what they need to move forward in their learning.
 
This developed Lisa's lifelong passion for the use of Symbols. She saw, repeatedly and firsthand, the benefits of using Symbols to help with comprehension, receptive and expressive language, confidence, independence, vocabulary and, unsurprisingly, behaviour. 
 
As a result, Lisa began to support inclusion on a wider level, becoming an inclusion lead and a specialist teacher in literacy difficulties. Lisa's firm belief is that, if we consider all potential barriers at the point of planning, we can give pupils a toolkit of supports that enable them to fully access the curriculum and feel truly included. 
 
When not at work, Lisa is an avid theatre goer and keen reader. Her happy place, as a qualified scuba instructor, is under the water.
https://www.widgit.com/
https://www.facebook.com/widgitsoftware26 
https://www.instagram.com/widgitsoftware/ 
https://x.com/widgit_software?s=21&t=WYBwCcJznmsfjzH62LQfXQ 
lisa@widgit.com 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-pinkerton-42148a26a/ 
 
B Squared Website – www.bsquared.co.uk 
Meeting with Dale to find out about B Squared - https://calendly.com/b-squared-team/overview-of-b-squared-sendcast 
Email Dale – dale@bsquared.co.uk 
Subscribe to the SENDcast - https://www.thesendcast.com/subscribe
The SENDcast is powered by B Squared
We have been involved with Special Educational Needs for over 25 years, helping show the small steps of progress pupils with SEND make. B Squared has worked with thousands of schools, we understand the challenges professionals working in SEND face. We wanted a way to support these hardworking professionals - which is why we launched The SENDcast! Click the button below to find out more about how B Squared can help improve assessment for pupils with SEND in your school.

When you see a child glued to a screen, it's easy to make assumptions. But for neurodivergent children, screen use is rarely what it looks like from the outside.
In this episode, Dale is joined by Dr. Daniel Weisberg a consultant clinical psychologist to discuss neurodivergent children, young people, and screen use.
Together, Dale and Daniel explore six key reasons why screens function very differently for neurodivergent children - from the haven of predictability that games provide in contrast to an overwhelming real world, to the role of screens in decompression and emotional regulation after a demanding day. They also dig into the neurobiology of dopamine, why the anticipation of screen time can be just as powerful as the screen use itself, and the important nuance between different types of screen time.
They also tackle the thorny subject of sleep - what screens actually do to the brain at night, why it's not as simple as just switching off, and why the 70mph-to-standstill analogy might make you think twice about your own bedtime scrolling habits.
 
About Dr Daniel Weisberg
Dr Daniel Weisberg is a consultant clinical psychologist and the managing director of CAYP Psychology, an award-winning independent clinical psychology service for Children, Adolescents, and Young People.
Daniel worked for NHS services for over ten years. He has substantial experience of working with children, adolescents and young people experiencing health, social, emotional and psychological difficulties.
After he qualified as a clinical psychologist, he worked within Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust for Children's Psychological Services. He then moved to Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust and worked within the Paediatric Psychosocial Department. Daniel specialised in paediatric neuropsychology, a highly specialised area of clinical psychology that aims to understand how children's brains relate to their learning, behaviour and development. He worked closely with children and families who are living with neurological health conditions, genetic disorders, metabolic diseases and other health conditions.
 
www.cayp-psychology.com
https://www.facebook.com/CAYPpsychology/
https://www.instagram.com/cayp.psychology/
https://www.tiktok.com/@cayp.psychology
daniel@cayp-psychology.com
 
 
B Squared Website – www.bsquared.co.uk 
Meeting with Dale to find out about B Squared - https://calendly.com/b-squared-team/overview-of-b-squared-sendcast 
Email Dale – dale@bsquared.co.uk 
Subscribe to the SENDcast - https://www.thesendcast.com/subscribe
 
The SENDcast is powered by B Squared
We have been involved with Special Educational Needs for over 25 years, helping show the small steps of progress pupils with SEND make. B Squared has worked with thousands of schools, we understand the challenges professionals working in SEND face. We wanted a way to support these hardworking professionals - which is why we launched The SENDcast! Click the button below to find out more about how B Squared can help improve assessment for pupils with SEND in your school.