After our first conference at the London School of Economics in June, We Love SENCos is heading to Birmingham. We Love SENCos II: Building Better SEND Support takes place on Tuesday 17 November 2026 at Millennium Point, with a bigger programme, more choice and more time to talk.

More than 350 people have already booked, so only the last few tickets are left.

The essentials

• When: Tuesday 17 November 2026, 8:30am⁠–⁠5pm.

• Where: Millennium Point, Curzon Street, Birmingham B4 7XG.

• Tickets: £20. Your ticket includes the full event, your choice of parallel sessions, lunch and refreshments. Ticket sales close on 12 November.

• Refunds: available up to 7 days before the event.

• Who it’s for: SENCos and assistant SENCos, inclusion leads, headteachers and senior leaders, trust and local authority leaders, specialist teachers and assessors, educational psychologists and other SEND professionals, and teachers with responsibility for inclusive practice.

We run We Love SENCos on a not-for-profit basis: ticket and exhibitor income goes back into the day. As in London, we’re organising it with Lexonic and Empowering Tech.

Why this year matters

SEND is changing. The government has set out big proposals for reforming the system, schools are starting to use the new Inclusive Mainstream Fund, and there is a growing expectation that needs are identified and met earlier in mainstream schools. Our guide to the SEND reforms separates what is confirmed from what is still proposed.

SENCos can’t wait for every detail to be settled. They are already managing rising need, stretched budgets and growing workloads. The day is designed to help with that gap between policy and practice: honest perspectives from across the system, and practical ideas to take back to school. As our Eventbrite page puts it, “This is not a day of abstract discussion or sales pitches.”

How the day works

The morning opens on the main stage. In the late morning, the programme splits into three parallel tracks, so you can choose what’s most useful for you and your school. After lunch, an audience-led Experts at Hand panel puts your questions to specialists. The day closes with In conversation with Frankie Bridge, followed by an hour of networking.

The programme

This is the programme as published on Eventbrite. Like any conference programme, it may change, so check the Eventbrite page for the latest version.

Main stage

• 8:30⁠–⁠9am: Doors open, with registration, refreshments and networking

• 9:05⁠–⁠9:15am: Welcome from Jamie Wace, CEO, Talamo

• 9:15⁠–⁠9:50am: The State of SEND: How to Adapt to Change, with Saqib Bhatti MP (Shadow Education Minister), Phillipa Sherlock-Lewis (Chair, nasen, and CEO, Prince Albert Community Trust) and Adam Dance MP. Where the system stands today, what needs to change and what a more inclusive future could look like.

• 9:50⁠–⁠10:10am: How to Identify Need Without Being Overwhelmed, with Jamie Wace. A clearer, more manageable approach to identifying needs and turning evidence into action, without more data and paperwork.

• 10:15⁠–⁠10:35am: Assistive Technology in the World of AI, with Julia Clouter (Head of Education, Empowering Tech). Which tools genuinely improve access and independence, and how to keep them practical.

• 10:35⁠–⁠10:55am: Intervention That Doesn’t Cost the World, with Sarah Ledger (CEO, Lexonic). Making better use of teaching, existing resources and targeted support.

• 11:05⁠–⁠11:25am: Break

Track 1: SEND Masterclass Room

• 11:30am⁠–⁠12pm: Understanding Comorbidity, with Louise Selby (SEN expert, assessor and author) and Janet Goring (maths and dyscalculia specialist, Talamo). How overlapping needs affect identification and support.

• 12⁠–⁠12:30pm: Executive Functioning, with Victoria Bagnall (CEO, Connections in Mind). The skills behind attention, organisation, working memory and self-regulation, with classroom strategies.

• 12:30⁠–⁠1pm: Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH), with Charlotte Clarke (psychologist and co-founder, Navigate Education). Practical ways to build safety, connection and readiness to learn.

• 1⁠–⁠1:30pm: Speech, Language and Communication, with Henrietta McLachlan (CEO, Elklan). Recognising communication needs and making everyday teaching more accessible.

Track 2: Operational SEND

• 11:30am⁠–⁠12pm: AI and SEND: Practical Ways to Reduce Workload, with Darren Coxon (Founder, Kompass Education)

• 12⁠–⁠12:30pm: Building Inclusion While Managing Pressure, with Abigail Hawkins (Founder, Sensible SENCo). Keeping belonging and pupils’ experiences at the centre when urgent tasks pile up.

• 12:30⁠–⁠1:30pm: Building an Inclusive Culture, a panel with Abigail Hawkins, Terri Cawser (Language and Learning Lead, Birmingham City Council) and Amanda Shotter (Inclusion Director, Prince Albert Community Trust). Attendance, relationships, staff wellbeing and what makes inclusion sustainable.

Track 3: Strategic Inclusion

• 11:30am⁠–⁠12:30pm: Responding to a Changing SEND System, a panel with Liz Murray (SEND Director, Supporting Education Group), Hannah Lovegrove-Campion (Head of SEND, Independent Schools Association) and Vicky Merrick (Founding Director, Merrick-Ed). What the reforms, the Inclusive Mainstream Fund and Ofsted’s developing approach could mean for schools and trusts.

• 12:30⁠–⁠1:30pm: SEND Equality: Who Is Still Being Left Behind? A panel with Michelle Catterson (Executive Head, Moon Hall Schools Trust), Amy Baxter (Senior Education Adviser for SEND, Greenwood Academies Trust), Frances Akinde (inclusion leader, speaker and author) and Kelvin Donald (CEO, Aurora). Which children and young people are most likely to disengage or be excluded, and what schools and the wider system can do.

Afternoon

• 1:30⁠–⁠2:30pm: Lunch

• 2:30⁠–⁠3:30pm: Experts at Hand, an audience-led panel with Lia Castiglione (specialist assessor and access arrangements trainer), Paul Eames (educational psychologist, Dyslexia Centre), Dr Helen Ross (dyslexia specialist and researcher) and Victoria Bagnall (CEO, Connections in Mind). Bring your questions.

• 3:30⁠–⁠4pm: In conversation with Frankie Bridge

• 4⁠–⁠5pm: Networking

What you’ll take away

• a clearer understanding of the proposed SEND reforms, and what the Inclusive Mainstream Fund means for schools

• practical approaches to identifying and responding to pupils’ needs

• classroom strategies that don’t add cost or complexity

• ideas for reducing workload and using technology sensibly

• direct access to experienced practitioners and specialists

• time with SENCos and inclusion leaders facing the same challenges

Shaped by London

We asked everyone who came to our first conference what worked and what didn’t, and Birmingham is built around the answers. People wanted more choice, more time to talk, more of the practical sessions they valued most, and less selling, so that’s what we’ve planned. You can read more in our review of We Love SENCos I.

Getting there

• By train: Birmingham Moor Street and New Street are the nearest stations, and Snow Hill is within walking distance.

• By bus: city-centre buses 14, 55/55A, 90 and 94 stop near the venue’s Jennens Road entrance.

• By car: there’s a council-run multi-storey car park next to the venue, entered from Curzon Street (sat nav B4 7AP, height limit 2.1m). Blue Badge holders park free.

The venue’s getting here page has the latest travel information.

Access, food and CPD

• Access: Millennium Point is an accessible venue, and its staff can help visitors from the car park.

• Food: lunch and refreshments are included. If you have access or dietary requirements, email hello@talamo.co.uk before the day and we’ll make arrangements with the venue.

• CPD: it’s a full day of professional learning that you can log as CPD with your school.

Book your place

Only the last few tickets are left. Book your place on Eventbrite →

Can’t make it this time? Let us know you’d like to hear about future events and we’ll keep you posted.