FE Is the Forgotten Middle Space—and SEND Reform Cannot Afford to Overlook It

There is a very particular kind of pressure within Further Education.

One that often goes unseen.

FE professionals are expected to create increasingly adult-focused environments while continuing to support young people whose needs did not disappear when they turned 16.

They are expected to prepare students for employment and adulthood, encourage independence, maintain safeguarding responsibilities, support wellbeing, manage risk and create meaningful progression opportunities.

And, within all of that, allow young people the space to make mistakes, develop and still be young.

For neurodivergent students, this period can be one of the most vulnerable and misunderstood stages of education.

Further Education sits in the middle: between the structures of school and the expectations of adulthood; between receiving support and being expected to request it; between learning about yourself and having to explain your needs to somebody else.

That is why FE cannot simply be mentioned within SEND reform. Its particular role must be understood.

The direction of travel makes sense — on paper

The government’s 2026 schools and SEND reforms set out ambitions that many families and professionals will recognise as important:

• identifying needs earlier

• providing support before difficulties reach crisis point

• strengthening inclusive provision

• improving consistency

• reducing the need for families to fight for support

• improving coordination between education, health and care

The proposals apply across the 0–25 SEND system and include colleges in plans for Individual Support Plans, earlier support and potential investment in more inclusive provision.

Those commitments matter.

But being included in policy wording does not guarantee that the reality of FE will shape how the reforms are implemented.

Inclusion without infrastructure is not inclusion.

And implementation that does not understand the transition between school, college and employment risks leaving the middle of that journey unsupported.

FE is already holding a huge amount

Colleges already support significant numbers of neurodivergent learners, often while managing limited funding, stretched wellbeing teams, inconsistent access to specialist support and very different levels of staff confidence.

At the same time, expectations placed on students can change dramatically after 16:

• timetables may become less structured

• environments become larger and less familiar

• independent study increases

• students are expected to organise themselves

• communication becomes more adult-led

• self-advocacy carries greater weight

• social expectations become less explicit

• decisions about employment and adulthood move closer

For many neurodivergent young people, this is not simply an academic transition.

It is a nervous-system transition.

Support may reduce at the same time as demands on executive functioning, communication, regulation and independence increase.

When the resulting strain becomes visible, it may be interpreted as:

• poor attendance

• lack of motivation

• disengagement

• unprofessional behaviour

• difficulty coping

• not being “work ready”

But those descriptions tell us what somebody’s experience looks like from the outside. They do not tell us what is happening underneath it.

A more useful starting point might be:

• What has changed around this student?

• Which demands have increased?

• What support or predictability has reduced?

• What is this behaviour communicating?

• Which barriers are creating additional cognitive or emotional load?

The nervous system does not magically become regulated at 16.

Inclusion bases could help — but the culture around them matters

The reforms include proposals for greater investment in inclusion bases and more specialist support within mainstream settings.

Used well, these spaces could provide:

• somewhere to regulate without judgement

• supported transition

• flexible learning

• access to specialist understanding

• a safer route back into the wider college environment

But a room does not become inclusive simply because it has been given an inclusive name.

Without appropriate staffing, shared understanding and a wider neuroinclusive culture, there is a risk that such spaces become somewhere students are sent away to—or a substitute for addressing barriers across the wider environment.

The question is not only whether a college has a designated space.

It is whether the student remains understood, included and meaningfully connected to college life.

Support needs do not follow neat cycles

Neurodivergent support is rarely static.

Some weeks require more support than others. Transitions, assessments, placements, unexpected change, sensory strain and accumulating burnout can all affect how somebody functions.

This does not necessarily mean the person’s underlying ability has changed.

It may mean the demands placed upon them have exceeded the support, energy or regulation available at that moment.

Systems therefore need enough consistency to feel safe and enough flexibility to respond when needs change.

Support that appears only after attendance has fallen, distress has escalated or a student has disengaged is not genuinely preventative.

We need a wider definition of a successful outcome

Education outcomes matter — but successful neurodivergent adulthood cannot be measured through attendance, attainment, retention and progression data alone.

We should also be asking whether students leave FE with:

• a stronger understanding of themselves

• confidence in how they learn and work

• language for communicating their needs

• experience of support without shame

• sustainable ways of managing energy and regulation

• a genuine sense of belonging

• greater confidence when navigating employment

• the ability to recognise when something is not working

Employment success is not simply getting a job.

It is being able to enter, navigate and sustain work without continually overriding your needs until you reach burnout.

That preparation cannot begin during an employer’s induction process. It needs to be built into the transition from education.

What can colleges do now?

Colleges do not need to wait for every part of SEND reform to be finalised before strengthening their neuroinclusive practice.

Build shared understanding

Help staff recognise how overwhelm, masking, executive-functioning differences, sensory needs and difficulties with communication or task initiation can appear in real FE environments.

Not so that staff can diagnose students—but so they can remain curious about what they are seeing.

Look for accumulating friction

Do not wait until a student reaches crisis point.

Notice where timetables, instructions, environments, transitions or expectations are creating repeated strain. Earlier conversations often make smaller, more responsive support possible.

Make accessibility easier to navigate

Students should not need exceptional confidence, diagnostic paperwork or the perfect words before somebody will explore what may help.

Make routes to support clear, predictable and safe to use.

Connect education support with workplace understanding

Help students translate what they know about learning into an understanding of how they may work.

A student who knows they benefit from written instructions in college also needs to know how to communicate that need to a future manager.

Create psychologically safer systems

Students are more likely to communicate, participate and self-advocate when mistakes are treated as part of learning and support conversations do not begin from judgement.

Think strategically, not reactively

Neuroinclusion should not sit solely with learning support, SEND teams or one particularly committed member of staff.

It needs connection across leadership, curriculum, wellbeing, careers, employability, HR and everyday college practice.

Final thoughts

Further Education professionals are already holding one of the most complex balancing acts within education.

They deserve recognition, practical support and realistic conversations about what meaningful inclusion requires.

The 2026 reforms create an important opportunity to improve how needs are identified and supported across the 0–25 system.

But as those proposals move towards implementation, FE must not become the space between policy intentions.

Because inclusion cannot stop at the school gates—and preparation for employment cannot begin at the workplace door.

NEURODIVERSITY IN FURTHER EDUCATION

Could the transition between education and employment work differently?

Maisie works with FE and post-16 organisations to strengthen staff understanding, learner self-awareness and the connection between education support and workplace success.

If this article reflects conversations happening within your organisation, let’s explore where greater understanding could make the greatest difference.

START A CONVERSATION: Click here to get in touch with Maisie.