As we start 2025 and anticipate the curriculum and assessment review findings, I can’t help but wonder what it will mean for our most vulnerable pupils.

At our school we, like many others, are committed to ensuring all children, regardless of their needs, thrive academically, socially and emotionally.

At present, we do this for many children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and over 30 children with education, health and care plans (EHCP).

These children are all individuals with unique strengths, challenges and potential, who we support to progress as much as they can with whatever support they need.

A failing system

Yet, despite the exceptional progress they will make, the current system fails to reflect their growth accurately and fairly.

For example, in our current Year 6 cohort, we have eight children with EHCPs. These children have made tremendous strides since key stage 1, but it is highly unlikely they will meet the national expected standard at key stage 2, while some will also not sit the tests.

This is not due to a lack of effort, or a failing on their part, but because the rigid, one-size-fits-all assessment system is not designed to accommodate the diverse needs of children with SEND.

Despite this, their results (even those who do not sit exams) will still be included in our overall published school outcomes, distorting the true picture of their progress.

This is deeply unfair - not just to the children, but to the families, staff and the very ethos of inclusion that we work tirelessly to foster.

A soul-destroying situation

Furthermore, as a school leader, I am often then called to explain and justify why our outcomes fall short.

This process at times feels punitive and, having had to do this for over ten years, I can say without hesitation that this system is increasingly soul-destroying.

It chips away at my morale and the morale of my colleagues who are deeply invested in doing what is right for the children.

The reality is, though, until schools are no longer judged on standardised test scores, the SEND crisis will persist.

Because a narrow focus on attainment distorts the public and governmental understanding of inclusion and hinders our ability to fully embrace the diversity of needs within our classrooms.

What we need now is a system that reflects the true achievements of every child, regardless of their starting point, so we can celebrate their growth in meaningful, holistic ways.

As such, with policymakers in the process of deciding the future of our education system and drawing on the responses to the curriculum and assessment review, I urge them to recognise these shortcomings and consider a new approach.

A place for all to thrive

Schools must foster a sense of ‘belonging’ for all. We must shift the focus from accountability measures that penalise schools for embracing diversity, to a system that supports us in fulfilling our inclusive mission.

This would allow us to create an educational landscape that values the individual growth and development of every child, not just their test results.

This would also tackle the inclusion issue within some mainstream schools, whereby schools feel so pressured by the academic metrics used to judge them that they do not engage with pupils with SEND or those with EHCPs in the way they should.

Clearly, this is not right. Fixing this and ensuring all pupils’ educational journeys are measured, valued and respected must be at the heart of any proposals put forward by policymakers.

It’s 2025 - the time for change is now.

James Searjeant is headteacher at Wyborne Primary and Nursery School in London