Editing Openai/6941a147-f88c-8013-9b9b-6ffd2c253b30 (section)

==== The Priors About SEND That Make This Seem Like a Good Idea ====

To find this idea compelling, someone would likely hold several implicit beliefs about special educational needs:

===== 1. SEND is primarily a placement problem, not a systemic one =====

They see the “SEND crisis” as driven mainly by a shortage of suitable physical spaces rather than:
* underfunding,
* workforce shortages,
* legal accountability pressures,
* complexity and diversity of needs,
* or failures of inclusive mainstream provision.

If space is the bottleneck, then unused buildings look like a solution.

===== 2. SEND pupils are best educated separately and locally, not inclusively =====

They likely believe that:
* specialist provision is inherently better than mainstream inclusion for most SEND pupils,
* proximity and calm environments matter more than integration with peers,
* and separation is not stigmatising but protective.

This assumes SEND is something to be accommodated away from the mainstream, rather than reshaping the mainstream.

===== 3. “Special needs” are relatively homogeneous and predictable =====

For churches to seem viable, one must assume:
* needs can be clustered geographically,
* staffing can be generalist rather than highly specialised,
* buildings need not be purpose-built,
* and compliance (safeguarding, accessibility, medical needs) is manageable or secondary.

This flattens the reality that SEND ranges from speech delay to profound medical dependency.

===== 4. SEND provision benefits primarily from moral goodwill and community space, not technical expertise =====

There’s an assumption that:
* the right spirit (care, calm, community) can compensate for limits in infrastructure,
* and that education is closer to pastoral care than to a highly regulated public service.

This aligns SEND with charity and benevolence rather than rights and entitlements.

===== 5. The crisis is partly caused by modern institutional failure, not historical neglect =====

They may believe:
* bureaucracy, secularisation, and centralisation have stripped communities of local solutions,
* older, simpler models were more humane,
* and reactivating traditional institutions could repair modern excesses.

SEND becomes another example of “we’ve overcomplicated things.”