SEN
Inclusive culture Schools in Cambridge are responding to the growing number of children with special educational needs across the country by using a holistic approach S pecial educational needs (SEN), additional needs or neurodivergence. The terms may vary but the statistics tell the same story. Every year, more children in our schools are diagnosed with learning challenges. In June 2025, the Department for Education reported that more than 1.7 million pupils in England have special educational needs – that’s an increase of 5.6% and of almost 100,000 students since 2024. According to the government, an estimated one in seven children have a form of learning difference. Given those figures, you can expect that in every school in the country, including the most academically selective, a class of 30 pupils will on average have a handful or so pupils with learning needs. The acronym SEN takes in an eclectic range of conditions, of which the most common are attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism and more specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia and dyspraxia. That does not necessarily mean all neurodivergent children will be identified.
08 SPRING/SUMMER 2026
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