Social, Emotional, and Mental Health (SEMH) is one of the fastest growing areas of need in the UK, with around 350,000 children and young people requiring educational support. Yet there is currently no Initial Teacher Training (ITT) route that explicitly develops SEMH understanding, despite its huge impact on pupils’ ability to learn.
To help address this, St Edward's School, Hampshire, an independent special school, has partnered with St Mary’s University, Twickenham to launch the UK’s first Primary PGCE with an SEMH enhancement, giving new teachers the skills to support SEMH needs from day one.
This guest blog has been written by Matthew Harris, Assistant Head (Academic) and Digital Strategy Lead, St Edward's School, Hampshire, who played a key role in creating the programme. He shares what drove his school to work with St Mary's, highlighting how too many teachers start their careers feeling unprepared to support pupils with SEMH needs, leaving some of the most vulnerable children without the understanding and help they deserve. With pupils’ needs becoming increasingly complex, Matthew argues that SEMH expertise must be embedded into schools from the start, not as an optional add-on, to give every child the chance to thrive.
-----------------------------------------------------
It is a deeply upsetting reality that not all children and young people (CYP) receive the education they deserve. A disproportionate number of those who miss out are pupils with Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) challenges, whose unmet sensory needs or developmental trauma manifest in behaviours that make school feel unsafe or inaccessible. At St Edward’s, pupils who have lost years of education due to anxiety and Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA) are placed with us. This is fundamentally wrong; CYP should not be out of school for any length of time; they should receive the right support at the earliest opportunity, wherever they are educated.
Schools are increasingly expected to meet the needs of pupils who do not arrive ready to learn, but instead need to be understood, supported and emotionally regulated. SEMH is one of the fastest growing areas of need in the UK, with approximately 350,000 CYP requiring educational support (1). Despite this directly affecting their capacity to engage in learning, there is currently no Initial Teacher Training (ITT) qualification that explicitly develops SEMH understanding and practice (2).
Our strategic response to this is the UK’s first Primary PGCE with Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and an SEMH enhancement, which we are co-writing with St Mary’s University, Twickenham (3). Education is one of our most powerful tools for addressing social challenges, so the opportunity to co-write a course that addresses this need is not just exciting; it is necessary. It is not hyperbole to suggest it has the potential to fundamentally reshape ITT.
SEMH expertise matters
National Association of Special Schools (NASS) member schools understand that specialist provision exists because deep professional knowledge, skilled practice and a commitment to understanding the whole CYP matter. Extending this into ITT is a logical next step, reflecting the reality of modern classrooms and integrating specialist insight into a PGCE to equip future teachers with practical strategies. SEMH and its myriad of co-morbidities, including autism, ADHD, trauma and anxiety, are no longer peripheral considerations; they are central to effective learning. Our schools have refined SEMH-informed practice over decades; this programme represents higher education learning from specialist expertise.
Every school has a Maths and English specialist, but how transformative would it be if every school also had teachers with a deep understanding of SEMH and its impact on learning? Training early-career professionals to support complex SEMH offers one of the strongest routes to addressing the SEND crisis and ensuring that every CYP receives an education that works for them(4).
Recently, during strength-based autism training, I heard the phrase “attention seeking versus connection seeking”. Sixteen years into my career, I found myself questioning why this reframing had not been introduced earlier. If we want teachers to understand behaviour as communication, that mindset must be embedded from the start. SEMH expertise must be core to quality teaching, not an optional add-on.
Recruitment and visibility
Despite experience in mainstream, independent and international schools, I came into SEMH education almost by accident, prompted by a compelling job advert and professional curiosity. Our sector deserves greater visibility, ensuring the best of our profession are drawn towards the CYP who need them most. SEMH learners deserve educators who are confident, reflective and skilled in complexity.
One of my headteacher’s analogies always resonates: if mainstream schools are GPs, specialist schools are consultants. This course has the potential to shift perceptions and change the narrative around SEMH, as with greater exposure more early-career teachers may choose to specialise within mainstream settings or work with the most complex cases in specialist provision.
The path forward
The SEND and mental health challenges facing CYP are sobering, but the willingness to do things differently is cause for optimism. The fact that St. Mary’s were not only receptive to our idea for the course but decided to implement it at the earliest possible opportunity, speaks volumes. With a secondary course planned for 2027 and specialist SEMH apprenticeships for teachers and teaching assistants in development, their collaboration with us has the potential to reshape the national landscape and pave the way for further partnerships between specialist provision and higher education.
SEMH needs are among the most challenging to meet and teachers consistently report feeling underprepared. However, every teacher enters the profession wanting to make a difference. I'm hopeful that this course can inspire and train the next generation of educators to not only understand, but choose to work with, society's most vulnerable CYP.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
St Edward’s is a specialist day school providing care and education for boys who experience social, emotional and mental health difficulties (SEMH). Find out more: https://www.stedwardsschool.co.uk/teachertraining