What is STEPS?
STEPS (School-wide Training for Every Pupil's Support) is a comprehensive online SEND training platform designed with SENCOs and school leaders to build sustainable in-house expertise across your whole staff team.
Join our pilot to become a STEPS school today and get free access to all courses, resources, and tracking tools until January 2026.
Becoming A STEPS School Gives You:
- 12 specialist SEND courses covering essential areas from Autism to ADHD, with flexible, self-paced learning
- 3 structured learning levels for each course, enabling all your staff to have the level of knowledge, skills and practical resources which is needed for their role
- Unlimited access for all staff with flexible monthly or annual subscription options
- Progress tracking KPI dashboard to monitor whole-school SEND development and outcomes
- SEND webinar library to enable staff to continue their professional development in any areas of interest
For Headteachers
- Maximise your CPD budget: One subscription trains your entire staff - minimising costly external training days and cover needs
- Drive school improvement: Build sustainable in-house SEND expertise while evidencing impact through your tracking dashboard
- Strong inspection outcomes: Demonstrate your strategic commitment to SEND with comprehensive staff development and consistent whole-school approaches
- Enhances staff retention: Building a confident team in your team's professional growth and confidence
For SENCOs
- Build expertise at every level: From teaching assistants to subject leaders - give your team the knowledge they need through role-specific learning paths
- Make effective support simple: Equip your staff with ready-to-use intervention tools, observation checklists, and strategies that can be easily used with CYP
- See the impact in action: Track both staff development and pupil progress through your digital dashboard - perfect for evidencing impact to SLT and Ofsted
- Support for early intervention: Equip staff to identify and support needs earlier
For Teachers and Teaching Assistants
- Flexible, self-paced learning: bite-sized modules fit around your busy timetable
- Ready for tomorrow: Get practical strategies and downloadable resources you can use
- Increased confidence: 85% of staff report significant increase in confidence to support pupils with SEND
- Your go-to SEND toolkit: Build a personal library of useful strategies and resources - perfect for planning, and those "I need help now" moments
Three Structured Learning Levels
Level 1
- Essential awareness for all staff (including support staff, lunchtime supervisors)
Level 2
- Enhanced knowledge for those working directly with SEND pupils
Level 3
- Specialist implementation guidance for SENCOs and SEND leads
How Schools Typically Use STEPS
Most SENCOs tell us they implement STEPS in phases:
- Initial focus on 1-2 priority areas (often Autism, ADHD or SLCN)
- Core staff complete Level 1 in these areas first
- SEND champions in each department/year group complete Level 2
- SENCO and key staff access Level 3 specialist content
- Gradually expand to additional SEND areas based on school needs
What's Included in the Free Pilot
- Unlimited access for all staff until January 2026
- All 12 SEND courses with all three learning levels
- Complete resource library
- Progress Tracking and Impact Data dashboard
- Regular check-ins (optional but recommended)
Online SEND and Teacher CPD courses
Attachment and Trauma
Find out about the impact of childhood trauma on relationships with parents / carers and progress in school, and trauma informed practice.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Recognise signs of ADHD, and learn how to adapt classroom practice to help these CYP thrive.
Autism
Distinguish autism from other difficulties and find out how to adapt classroom practice to meet the need of this group.
Deafness
Understand the causes of deafness and identify best practice for supporting deaf learners.
Dyslexia and Significant Difficulties in Reading
Understand the concept of dyslexia, the challenges faced by this group and how they can be overcome.
Dyspraxia and Motor Coordination Difficulties
Understand how motor coordination difficulties impact learning and social behaviour, and how best to help them.
Learning Strategies
Enhance your knowledge of learning theories and how to translate theory into inclusive classroom practice.
Mental Health and Wellbeing
Explore the concepts of wellbeing and mental health, and effective strategies to support learners and staff.
Multi-Sensory Impairment
The causes, implications, and strategies involved when working with learners with multi-sensory impairment.
Speech, Language and Communication Needs
Understand how speech and language difficulties can impact key curriculum areas and social inclusion.
Understanding and Supporting Behaviour
Managing behaviour is a challenge for all staff. Learn how to support, respond and reduce behavioural events.
Vision Impairment
See the world through the eyes of learners with vision impairment, and identify best practice for supporting them.
Our courses are developed in partnership with SEND specialists and leading institutions to reflect current evidence-based practice. They provide a secure knowledge of the graduated approach, an understanding of assessment checklists and techniques, a toolkit of interventions to differentiate learning, and a support plan to differentiate and personalise learning.
What School Staff Say
SENCO, STEPS Pilot School
SENCO, Pilot School
Primary School Teacher
FAQ
Your School has unlimited free access to the whole of STEPS until January 2026. This gives you the time to gain what you can from this, and see the benefits for your staff and CYP.
After this time, you can choose to continue access for all your staff. The price for each school can vary depending on size, with the flexible pricing meaning you can choose between:
- Annual subscription: £800 (saving £400 compared to monthly payments)
- Monthly subscription: £100 per month
Each course offers three progressive levels, structured to fit around the school day:
- Step 1: Universal awareness (2 hours)
- Step 2: Enhanced skills (2 hours)
- Step 3: Specialist skills and interventions (2 hours)
Courses are broken down into manageable 5-10 minute chapters - perfect for fitting around PPA time or briefings. Staff can pause and resume whenever needed, and each completed level earns its own CPD certificate.
SENCOs can guide different staff members to appropriate levels based on their roles and development needs.
Your comprehensive dashboard gives you instant visibility of your school's SEND development:
- Track progress through each level across all courses
- Monitor impact through staff knowledge, skills and confidence metrics
- Measure outcomes for children and young people
- Generate customised reports for different audiences (ideal for governors and Ofsted)
You're in control - set completion targets, get notifications for key milestones, and create deadlines that align with your school improvement priorities. The system helps you spot where additional support might be needed, celebrate success across your team, and get the data you need for different audiences.
Yes - tailor professional development pathways to match your school's needs:
- Create role-specific training routes (e.g., teaching assistants, subject teachers, heads of department)
- Align learning with your school's SEND priorities and development plan
- Support performance management by tracking individual progress and achievements
- Integrate with existing CPD and appraisal systems
Perfect for building strategic staff development plans whilst ensuring everyone receives appropriate training for their role and responsibilities.
The platform directly supports key areas of the Education Inspection Framework:
- Demonstrate your whole-school approach to SEND provision
- Evidence staff's ongoing professional development
- Show clear impact on teaching quality and pupil progress
- Prove consistent approaches across the whole school
Generate detailed reports showing how you're meeting Quality of Education and Leadership & Management criteria through systematic staff development and consistent SEND provision. Particularly valuable for evidencing how 'leaders ensure that teachers receive focused and highly effective professional development' and that 'teachers and leaders use assessment well.'
Our content is regularly reviewed and updated by experienced teachers and educational psychologists to ensure it remains current and evidence-based:
- Immediate updates following significant DfE guidance changes
- Regular reviews of best practice and research
- Fresh classroom resources and implementation strategies
- New content aligned with current educational priorities
You'll always have access to the latest guidance, translated into practical classroom strategies.
All content is developed by an experienced multi-professional team who understand both the theory and daily reality of SEND support:
- Led by Educational Psychologists with extensive school experience
- Contributions from experienced SENCOs, specialist teachers and other SEND professionals
- Input from clinical experts (including psychiatrists) for specialist areas
- Regular peer review ensures content remains practical and relevant
Every course combines robust research with real classroom strategies. We're responsive to schools' needs - creating new resources based on user feedback and requests to ensure content remains practical and relevant for your setting.
Schools typically see impact across several key areas:
- Immediate improvements in staff confidence and capability
- Progressive enhancement in classroom practice as strategies are implemented
- Measurable pupil progress through Goal Attainment Scaling
- Reduced need for external specialist support
Every course combines robust research with real classroom strategies. We're responsive to schools' needs - creating new resources based on user feedback and requests to ensure content remains practical and relevant for your setting.
Impact grows with engagement - the more your staff engage with the training, the greater the improvements in both their confidence and pupil outcomes. You'll be able to track this through:
- Individual staff progress metrics
- Pupil outcome tracking
- Whole-school SEND development indicators
- Customisable impact reports for governors and Ofsted
Many schools report seeing initial impact within their first term of implementation, with sustained improvements as the training becomes embedded in practice.