Questions on SEND: Developing Inclusive Practice as an Early Career Teacher, edited by Georgina Durrant and published by Routledge, is a practical guide addressing the common challenges early career teachers face when supporting learners with special educational needs. It brings together responses from ten leading SEND specialists, tackling real questions such as whether a child needs a diagnosis to get support, and what adaptive teaching actually looks like in practice.

The book covers curriculum adaptation, environmental modifications, and collaboration with families and support staff, combining professional expertise with lived experience perspectives. Reflection questions throughout encourage readers to evaluate their own inclusive practice, and the accessible, question-and-answer format allows teachers to consult specific sections as needed rather than reading cover to cover.

For schools

• Gives early career teachers direct, practical answers to the SEND questions they are most likely to encounter in their first years of teaching.
• Draws on ten different SEND specialists, giving a genuinely varied range of professional and lived experience perspectives rather than a single viewpoint.
• Its question-and-answer format makes it easy for busy teachers and mentors to dip into specific sections during a school day.
• Useful for teacher training providers, ECT mentors, and SENCOs supporting early career staff across a school or trust.

For the workplace

• Supports early career teachers' own professional development, giving them practical grounding in SEND practice as part of their induction and CPD.
• Reflection questions throughout make it suitable for use in mentoring conversations and professional development reviews, not just independent reading.
• Addresses collaboration with families and support staff directly, relevant to how new teachers build working relationships in their role.
• Compassionate, classroom-grounded guidance aimed at reducing the pressure early career teachers can feel when supporting SEND pupils for the first time.

Early career teachers are often expected to support pupils with SEND from their very first year, frequently without the depth of training experienced colleagues have had time to build. Questions on SEND addresses this gap directly, using real questions from the profession rather than academic theory alone, so that new teachers can find practical, actionable guidance quickly.

Question-and-answer formats grounded in classroom reality, drawing on multiple specialist contributors, are a practical way to build inclusive practice knowledge without requiring teachers to work through dense academic texts during a demanding first few years in the profession.

Whether you are an early career teacher looking for practical SEND guidance, or a school or training provider supporting new staff, Questions on SEND is a focused, classroom-grounded resource worth considering.

• Edited by Georgina Durrant, with contributions from ten SEND specialists, published by Routledge, an imprint of Taylor & Francis.
• Format: paperback, page count listed between 160 and 216 pages depending on retailer.
• Covers: diagnostic requirements for classroom support, adaptive teaching strategies, curriculum adaptation, environmental modifications, and collaboration with families and support staff.
• Format style: question-and-answer, allowing readers to consult specific sections as needed.
• Includes: reflection questions throughout to help readers evaluate their own inclusive practice.
• Audience: early career teachers (ECTs) and educators across all school settings.
• Publication date: 27 July 2026.

• Answers real questions from the profession. Ten SEND specialists respond to the questions early career teachers actually ask, such as whether a diagnosis is needed for support.
• Built for busy teachers. A question-and-answer format lets teachers consult specific sections as needed, rather than reading the whole book at once.
• Grounded in classroom reality. Combines professional expertise with lived experience perspectives, rather than academic theory alone.
• Supports early career development. Reflection questions throughout make it suitable for ECT mentoring conversations, not just solo reading.

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• What is Questions on SEND about?
  It is a practical guide edited by Georgina Durrant that answers the common SEND questions early career teachers face. Ten SEND specialists contribute answers on topics such as adaptive teaching, curriculum adaptation, and working with families.
• Who is Questions on SEND written for?
  It is written primarily for early career teachers (ECTs) and educators across all school settings who want to develop their inclusive practice. It is also useful for ECT mentors and teacher training providers.
• Does a child need a diagnosis to get SEND support, according to this book?
  This is one of the direct questions the book addresses, drawing on the views of ten SEND specialists rather than a single answer. The book explores this alongside related questions such as what adaptive teaching actually involves.
• Is this book useful for professional development, not just independent reading?
  Yes, its reflection questions throughout make it suitable for ECT mentoring conversations and professional development reviews, as well as independent reading during a school day.
• Does this book cover one specific SEND condition or SEND practice generally?
  It covers SEND practice broadly, including curriculum adaptation, environmental modifications, and family collaboration, rather than focusing on a single diagnosis.
• Who edited Questions on SEND?
  It was edited by Georgina Durrant, with contributions from ten SEND specialists, and published by Routledge, an imprint of Taylor and Francis.
• How long is Questions on SEND?
  It is a paperback with a page count listed between 160 and 216 pages depending on the retailer.