A new evaluation report by Brunel University and Talent4Transition has confirmed the significant impact of the Whole Education SEND School Improvement Programme—and highlighted the role of EvaluateMySchool’s platform as key to its success, saying “Feedback from all participants provides an overwhelming confirmation of the integral importance of the EMS review approach for SEND leaders”.
EMS: A Strategic Tool for Local Authorities and Schools
The report emphasises how EMS supports local area planning by acting as a “useful dashboard” for LA SEND leaders. With EMS’s self-evaluation and action planning tools, LAs were able to clearly identify strengths and challenges across schools, align these with strategic priorities, and deploy resources more effectively. This level of data-informed planning marked a meaningful shift in how SEND improvement is approached at the local level.
One LA respondent remarked that ‘EMS fills a gap, in that it is a way in which as an LA we can join schools in getting to grips with their problems and working together. That’s not what I see in other kinds of audits to be frank…’
Building Capacity and Confidence in SEND Leaders
Participants in the programme who were using EMS reported strong improvements in their confidence and capacity to lead SEND strategically. Nearly 80% of participants said they felt confident or very confident in their role by the end of the programme. The report notes that EMS underpinned this transformation by enabling leaders to visualise trends, engage in reflective practice, and make data-driven decisions.
A Networked, System-Wide Impact
Whole Education’s programme was credited with supporting the creation of structured networks of SEND leaders. These peer networks, paired with EMS’s shared framework, helped re-balance LA and school relationships and made it easier to scale leadership and expertise from within the system.
Conclusion
Post-Programme survey metrics indicated that 92% of participants found the EMS review tool to be of material benefit, this highly positive response being characterised by such remarks as ‘It ensured we were able to have a clear focus on priority areas and had the CPD and support needed to action the plan’, ‘It was excellent. It gave us an opportunity to really explore areas we needed to develop’ and that it was a ‘Great process that allowed me to really identify priorities and be able to strategically plan for improvements.’
This report by Brunel University makes it clear: EvaluateMySchool is more than a tool—it’s a catalyst for collaboration, strategic clarity, and sustainable improvement in SEND provision. As one of the foundational components of the Whole Education SEND Programme, EMS is helping reshape how schools and systems support their most vulnerable learners.
Read the full report here: Greater than the Sum of Its Parts (PDF)
