Beyond Boundaries: Leading Great SEND Provision across a Trust

A teaching assistant, history teacher and senior leader, David led special educational needs and disability provision (SEND) in London schools for over 15 years. He was a member of the Department for Education's SEND Review steering group and an expert advisor to the Timpson Review on school exclusions. David has worked directly with over 700 school leadership teams across the UK to improve their SEND provision.
David is author of the SEND Review Guide, a national framework funded by the DfE. In 2018 he edited Great Expectations: Leading an Effective SEND Strategy in School, published by John Catt Educational. He was Director of SEND at the London Leadership Strategy and an advisor to the Mayor of London's education team. As part of his international work, David has supported the development of Inclusion policies in a number of countries including Ethiopia, Seychelles, Thailand and Malaysia. David is a member of the Education Policy Institute Advisory Board and a trustee of the KPMG Foundation, which seeks to bring about systemic change in business and society and unlock the potential of the most disadvantaged children in the UK.
David was awarded an OBE for Services to Special Education in the 2016 New Year's Honours list.

Natalie is a SEND Consultant working with schools, multi-academy trusts and local authorities to support the implementation of SEND policy and practice. She supports trusts with the strategic development of SEND and is a trustee of Learn-AT multi-academy trust in Leicestershire.
Previously, Natalie has worked with the National Strategies and DfE SEN Policy teams, as well as supporting schools internationally as a consultant governor. She has been a SEND and School Improvement Adviser for several local authorities across the East Midlands, has primary headship experience and has previously been a SENCO.
As a leading SEND expert for Optimus and The Key for School Leaders, Natalie regularly writes online articles and develops webinars. She is the author of The Perfect SENCO, and The Teacher's Guide to SEN, which was nominated in 2019 for a national Educational Resources Award. She is also series editor for Routledge's All About SEND books for classroom practitioners.