'I'm a primary school teacher - having more SEND pupils is an impossible task'

Primary school teacher Beverley Alderson has nearly 40 years of classroom experience, but even she thinks teaching more children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in mainstream schools is an “impossible task”.

The Devon-based teacher said the last few years have already seen a rise in children with more severe needs in mainstream classrooms, coupled with pressure on school budgets leading to staff redundancies.

“We’ve got a perfect storm of more need coming into school and fewer staff,” she warned, adding that increasing the number of SEND pupils in mainstream schools would make teaching “impossible” due to the lack of funding and support.

Ms Alderson warned that shifting provision towards mainstream schools could trigger the “mass migration” of teachers at a time