The first edition of Tes SEND Show North took place last week at Bolton Wanderers Stadium. Like the original show in London, the show offered visitors a chance to speak to countless companies and charities providing high-level products, interventions and support for implementing support for children and young people with SEND, and seminars for top thought leaders within the sector.

The two-day event kicked off with a panel discussion called ‘SEND, forensic mental health and the young offender’s unit: a journey too close for comfort’, exploring how failure to recognise and address a young person’s needs, can set them on the wrong path, marked by worsening mental health, substance abuse, poverty, and neglect.

While the seminars throughout the 2 days covered a range of topics, SEMH (social, emotional and mental health) was at the centre of many of them. Including a seminar by the Director of Services at Daisy Chain, Jenny Hewitt. Informed by the lived experiences of students Daisy Chain has helped, Jenny’s seminar focused on how to prevent emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA), learning from insights of the lived experiences of children and young people with poor SEMH.

Recent data shows that there are over 250,000 children with an SEMH need and nearly 170,000 autistic children in schools in England. About 70% of autistic children and young people have an SEMH need, meaning 50% - or around 125,000 children in England – with an SEMH need are autistic.

A 2001 survey from the Children’s Commissions called the Big Ask, surveyed children about their aspirations for the future. 2000 of these children weren’t in school and many of them were autistic. The overlap between autism and EBSA was the focus of Jenny’s talk. “Not all of [the children included in the study], but many of them talked about some of the challenges that they faced in school. Things like bullying, anxiety, sensory overwhelm from the school environment and some even spoke about not having their special educational needs met.”

Jenny looked at the push and pulls of attendance – what makes a child avoid school versus what pulls them into the classroom. Providing some examples, Jenny split these into three and provided examples for each:

The ‘home pull’:

• Reduced sensory and/or social demand

The ‘school pull’:

• Some autistic students thrive in academically challenging environments
• School may give autistic students a sense of belonging
•  It is an opportunity to connect with peers

The ‘school push’:

• Feeling unsafe in their environment
• Struggle with pathological demand avoidance (PDA) or anxiety which can both lead to autistic fatigue

Problems arise when these ‘home pulls’ and ‘school pushes’ outweigh the reasons a child may like to go to school. Using the lived experience of a young person who worked with Daisy Chain, Jenny explained how making small changes, like being allowed to work in quiet spaces, can make a big difference in this unbalance. One student – who Jenny referred to as Jessica – struggled with anxiety and autistic fatigue when she was at school which led to her attendance dropping down to less than 50%.

They worked on strategies that would help her get back into school by helping Jessica understand her diagnosis and come up with the support she felt she needed to get back into school. These included:

• Flexible start times to avoid busy school hallways
• A sensory-friendly quiet space
• Visual timetables
• A mentor with whom she would have regular check-ins with

“Don’t assume we’re just being difficult. Talk to us to find out what is going wrong.” Is Jessica’s piece of advice to practitioners and school staff.  

The second day continued with a loose SEMH theme – including one of the first seminars of the day by Professional Director at LINGO Wendy Lee, and Director of SEND at Star Academies Liz Murray exploring identification and support for students with SLCN and SEMH. The day closed on a shift in focus towards the SENCO themselves, with Special Needs and Relationship Specialist, Ginny Bootman and her seminar ‘Saving time as a busy SENCO means being realistic about what can be achieved in the time available’.

This first edition of Tes SEND Show North proved that the case for a northern version of the show was necessary to reach more of the SEND community, as well as highlighting the pressing need for effective support and interventions for children and young people with SEND. Across two days of insightful discussions and chances to meet exhibitors and colleagues, there was a clear emphasis on the importance of early identification, tailored strategies, and a collaborative approach to improving educational experiences. As attendees reflect on the discussions of the show, the challenge remains to turn these insights into meaningful, lasting change for the children who need it most.