iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Warren Carratt @warrencarratt.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

Very proud and happy to welcome school number 20 to our Trust, and the fourth new school we’ve opened in 5 1/2 years. West Riding Academy officially opened on 1 April 2026, a new special school we have co-constructed with Barnsley Council.

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Warren Carratt @warrencarratt.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

So councils have the legal duty to assess and determine the best place for a child in our long established school system, but Whitehall expect LA officers to deliver what they want, regardless of the legalities, for the promise of a handful of sweaty cash? Isn’t there a word for that…?

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Warren Carratt @warrencarratt.bsky.social · 07/03/2026

A picture that perfectly sums up the sporting prowess of my two boys… 🤣🤣

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Warren Carratt @warrencarratt.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

Amongst so many other things: I am always really grateful for the (literal and metaphorical) perspective my job has given me over the last decade. A warm and bright day in Manchester. 🙏🏼 🙏🏼 🙏🏼

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Warren Carratt @warrencarratt.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

But we have all that budget headroom to draw on 🙄🙄🙄

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Schools Week @schoolsweek.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

Three-quarters of school leaders are struggling to recruit teaching assistants, while support staff are leaving at the highest rate since records began, a report has warned schoolsweek.co.uk/support-staff-tur…

schoolsweek.co.uk

Support staff turnover hits record high, report warns

Report recommends government action to help schools recruit staff

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Warren Carratt @warrencarratt.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

We’re all super proud of our amazing Abbey School for winning the“empowering young leaders” award at the 2026 @youthsporttrust.bsky.social annual conference. What a team!

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Jon Severs @jonsevers.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

Few people have as much expertise and policy knowledge of SEND than @johngroberts.bsky.social - @tesmagazine.bsky.social SEND and Inclusion Editor. This piece on the SEND reforms is critical reading for all and the very personal final section is incredibly important www.tes.com/magazine/ana...

tes.com

The SEND reforms are out - now the real tests begin

The government has finally announced its plans for special educational needs provision. Tes’ SEND and inclusion editor John Roberts assesses the challenges to come

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Warren Carratt @warrencarratt.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

My thoughts on the strategy to leak details of such an important white paper for so many families and professionals, and why there’s still hope for what comes next week, despite this…

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Tes magazine @tesmagazine.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

There is not enough capacity in state special schools to take on pupils with SEND if a clampdown on private school fees leads to providers leaving the market, the government is being warned

tes.com

DfE warned on lack of state capacity for private SEND pupils

Leaders raise concern that the government's fees plan could lead to 'catastrophic' loss of independent special school provision

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Warren Carratt @warrencarratt.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

Why should it be ok that special & AP schools aren’t included in the “all primary schools will get a library” initiative? Why is it ok we aren’t in any investment plans? This absence means our schools - and the children & families we serve - are perpetually left out and left behind.

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Samantha Booth @samanthajbooth.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

I noticed this when looking at special school report cards and thought it was bizarre. Why would you compare a special school's intake to a mainstream school? Of course their EHCPs will be 'well-above' average! @warrencarratt.bsky.social also flagged with Ofsted - now they may remove it

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Warren Carratt @warrencarratt.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

Not a single commitment in this 10 year strategy to support and invest in the over crowded, crumbling special & AP school estate. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. I’m not surprised anymore, but I wish I could move beyond the chronic disappointment this still yields www.gov.uk/government/p...

gov.uk

Education estates strategy

The strategy sets out the government’s 10-year plan to improve the education estate in England to deliver a decade of national renewal.

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Warren Carratt @warrencarratt.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

Didn’t we get new RSHE statutory guidance two years ago…?

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Warren Carratt @warrencarratt.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

We’re almost at our target for our annual Christmas appeal as we sponsor a snowflake at the @sheffieldchildrens.bsky.social hospital. Please help share, and please please donate - whatever you can - to this worthwhile cause www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding...

justgiving.com

Help raise £800 to Sheffield Children's Hospital Snowflake Appeal – JustGiving Crowdfunding

Iʼm raising money to Sheffield Children's Hospital Snowflake Appeal. Support this JustGiving Crowdfunding Page.

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Jon Severs @jonsevers.bsky.social · 28/11/2025

Superb analysis from @warrencarratt.bsky.social that tells schools leaders what they need to know about the fallout from the Budget regarding SEND. "Reforms will all require, in the short term, more funding, not less, if we are to turn this system into one our country can be proud of"

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John Roberts @johngroberts.bsky.social · 26/11/2025

OBR documents (somehow!) published ahead of the Budget announcement say all SEND provision costs are to fall within DfE spending limits by 2028-29 and warn that if this is fully funded within the core schools budget, this implies a 1.7 per cent fall in mainstream school spending per pupil.

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John Roberts @johngroberts.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

Two stories out today on the impact of poverty on education. The government will need to tackle the disadvantages that boys from low-income families face if it is to meet its new school-readiness targets, the Institute for Government has warned. www.tes.com/magazine/new...

tes.com

Focus on disadvantaged boys to hit school-ready target, DfE told

Successive governments have failed to tackle entrenched inequalities in early years outcomes for boys from low-income backgrounds, IfG report warns

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Warren Carratt @warrencarratt.bsky.social · 13/10/2025

Trump is making international leaders walk onto a stage to him and shake his hand, as he stands behind a giant “peace” sign. 🤣 Such an exploitative, narcissistic and desperate act. Would make a lot more sense without the grammatically incorrect spelling of the sign…

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Warren Carratt @warrencarratt.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

Interesting session with colleagues from across the sector and the office of the @childrenscomm.bsky.social, exploring a better way of working for AP and special schools. Thanks to Wasim Butt and @ormistonacads.bsky.social for hosting. Wish I could have stayed for the tour.

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Warren Carratt @warrencarratt.bsky.social · 30/09/2025

At a time when special schools have never been under more pressure and there’s an urgent need for capital investment, we get priority being given… to school libraries. You know, that endemic issue that school leaders everywhere have been campaigning for 🤦🏻 #HowOutOfTouch?

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Charlotte Santry @charlottesantry.bsky.social · 26/09/2025

Is Ofsted’s inclusion measure fair to over-capacity special schools directed to take pupils whose needs they’re not equipped to meet? Lots of concern from the specialist sector here inc from @simonknight100.bsky.social and @warrencarratt.bsky.social Great reporting by @johngroberts.bsky.social

tes.com

Special schools fear ‘subjective’ Ofsted judgements

Inclusion focus risks ‘danger’ for schools directed to take on pupils whose needs they cannot meet, warns leader

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Warren Carratt @warrencarratt.bsky.social · 19/09/2025

A convicted liar, a cheat, a serial creator of false statements & unsubstantiated claims. He imposes tariffs on partners & welcomes Putin back onto the world stage. He and his VP repeatedly criticise the UK. He is, at best, a satirical figure. Yet the Daily Fail & Express back him. Wow. 🤦🏻

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Jim Lauder @mrjlauder.bsky.social · 18/07/2025

Really excellent article @johngroberts.bsky.social with dangerously sensible points from @jonnyuttley.bsky.social @jarlathobrien.bsky.social @warrencarratt.bsky.social and others. The inclusion element of the new Ofsted toolkit is dangerously tokenistic and not looking at intake makes it pointless.

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Warren Carratt @warrencarratt.bsky.social · 27/06/2025

Well done to all the Y11s finishing school today, and especially those across our family of schools - many of whom have been with us since primary stage. Today is the end of a long and rewarding journey - with a fresh chapter starting from here. You should all be so very proud.

media.tenor.com

a cartoon of a penguin with a clover and the words good luck below it

ALT: a cartoon of a penguin with a clover and the words good luck below it

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Warren Carratt @warrencarratt.bsky.social · 22/06/2025

It’s warm, it’s a Sunday, I have a glass of Côtes-de-Rhône Villages in hand, and Test Match Special is on the radio. What more can a boy ask for?

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Warren Carratt @warrencarratt.bsky.social · 20/06/2025

Very proud to see our respective Chairs taking the lead on this so publicly. Our Trust communities are so fortunate to have such bright and capable volunteers leading governance like this.

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Charlotte Santry @charlottesantry.bsky.social · 04/06/2025

Special school staff “could receive advanced training and remuneration and could then operate as consultants, as is the case in the fields of medicine and social work”. ^Interesting suggestion in a SEND inquiry submission, covered here by @johngroberts.bsky.social

tes.com

Pay special school staff as ‘consultants’ for mainstream, MPs told

Catholic Education Service tells SEND inquiry that special schools should be recognised as centres of excellence, with ‘consultant’ staff given extra pay, like in medicine

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John Roberts @johngroberts.bsky.social · 04/06/2025

MPs told special schools should be seen as centres of excellence and their staff given training and renumeration to act as consultants for the mainstream sector. My story for @tesmagazine.bsky.social on the latest submission to the Solving the SEND crisis inquiry. www.tes.com/magazine/new...

tes.com

Pay special school staff as ‘consultants’ for mainstream, MPs told

Catholic Education Service tells SEND inquiry that special schools should be recognised as centres of excellence, with ‘consultant’ staff given extra pay, like in medicine

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Warren Carratt @warrencarratt.bsky.social · 26/05/2025

On the train with these crazies…

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Schools Week @schoolsweek.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

💸 Exclusive: Many councils have effectively frozen special school budgets again this year, with leaders sounding the alarm that £1 billion of extra SEND funding is 'not getting anywhere near children' schoolsweek.co.uk/extra-1bn-se...

schoolsweek.co.uk

Extra £1bn SEND funding is ‘not reaching children’

Many councils aren't passing on the funding allocated for high needs at last year's budget

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Samantha Booth @samanthajbooth.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

Finding this hard to believe really, very honoured. Thanks so much to everyone who has trusted me over the past few years. SEND support is such a huge issue and glad it’s being recognised. Normal reporting service resumes when I’m back at my desk later this year

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Jon Severs @jonsevers.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

This is a lot better than schools expected and has honoured the STRB recommendation. The detail for individual schools will be key, including not just what is funded but how - @jasminenorden.bsky.social will be updating this story across the afternoon www.tes.com/magazine/new...

tes.com

Teachers to get 4% pay rise

The DfE has accepted the pay review body's recommendation of 4% and announced it will provide £615m in additional funding to schools

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John Roberts @johngroberts.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

A quick special school thread. In a submission to the Education Select Committee the DfE said the last govt had sent mixed messages on inclusion by “creating very large numbers of new special-school places, including for needs that could reasonably be met in mainstream”. www.tes.com/magazine/new...

tes.com

DfE: Previous government sent mixed messages on inclusion

Department claims that under the Conservatives it created special-school places for pupils who could have been educated in mainstream schools

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Warren Carratt @warrencarratt.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

Really excited to see this make the news - a very positive partnership approach between us & Sheffield Council that will make a big difference to local sufficiency, in the face of mind-boggling denial from the DfE on the need for more places. 1/2 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

New SEND school planned for firm's ex-HQ in Sheffield

Sheffield's Grade II listed Banner Cross Hall was Henry Boot PLC's HQ for about 90 years until 2023.

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Simon Knight @simonknight100.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

Lots to interest Special school people here, as well as those interested in SEND more broadly 👇

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John Roberts @johngroberts.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

And @warrencarratt.bsky.social the CEO of Nexus multi academy trust said he was "appalled” that in the DfE submission “officials are now saying that the opening of more special schools under the last government is a key issue that needs addressing by the current one”.

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Schools Week @schoolsweek.bsky.social · 06/05/2025

More than one in three councils are taking new measures to slash spending on home-to-school transport for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), sparking fears more vulnerable pupils will be left with hour-long school drop-offs schoolsweek.co.uk/the-long-and...

schoolsweek.co.uk

The long and winding road for SEND pupils

Travel costs are again in the sights of local authorities desperate to cut costs

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Confederation of School Trusts @cstvoice.bsky.social · 06/05/2025

We have submitted our response to the DfE school accountability reform consultation. Read the response: cstuk.org.uk/knowled...

CST new consultation response - CST response to the DfE school accountability reform consultation.

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Charlotte Santry @charlottesantry.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

The number of suspensions in spring 2024 was nearly double the pre-Covid figure - with the most common reason being 'persistent disruptive behaviour', latest DfE stats show.

tes.com

Suspensions up 12% in spring term last year

Suspensions and permanent exclusions increased in the spring term last year, with the North East having the highest rates out of all the regions, DfE data shows

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Warren Carratt @warrencarratt.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

So we’ve a 3.2% NJC pay offer & the DfE has provided a 0% minimum funding guarantee for this year (and last) for special and AP schools. Contracted services are going up (NI increase & inflation). Energy costs continue to be high. Yet 0% additional funding is what our most vulnerable learners get.

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Warren Carratt @warrencarratt.bsky.social · 04/04/2025

Another year, another real terms funding cut for special and AP schools. The high needs operational guidance continues to ensure that all state special and AP schools pay the price for years of underfunding high needs budgets. 1/2

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Warren Carratt @warrencarratt.bsky.social · 30/03/2025

Happy Mothering Sunday to all those mothers and mother figures out there. Feeling loved is the key foundation stone for a happy life, and that’s what you give others. Thank you!

media.tenor.com

a happy mother 's day greeting card with a cat and flowers

ALT: a happy mother 's day greeting card with a cat and flowers

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Jon Severs @jonsevers.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

This one will rumble on and on - the legal position, particularly around the gov ringfencing TPS scheme cash, has always been tricky and Sir Jon clearly not going to back down as he believes he is within his legal rights to do this. www.tes.com/magazine/new...

tes.com

MAT rejects DfE intervention over teacher pension plan

Confrontation over United Learning’s plan to offer teachers an alternative pension scheme that provides them with more take-home pay

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Tes magazine @tesmagazine.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

The leader of the country's biggest MAT has criticised a move by the government that could prevent it from offering an alternative pension scheme to its teachers

tes.com

MAT rejects DfE intervention over teacher pension plan

Confrontation over United Learning’s plan to offer teachers an alternative pension scheme that provides them with more take-home pay

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Warren Carratt @warrencarratt.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

Very pleased we could make this difference - one of 46 different improvement projects across our Trust right now! #BestWeCanBe

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Jasmine Norden @jasminenorden.bsky.social · 19/03/2025

Nexus MAT CEO @warrencarratt.bsky.social warned some special schools employing more staff "Might have a significant shortfall" due to the methodology He also points out schools will not be compensated for supplier cost rises due to increased employer NICs

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