Here’s a quick summary of what’s new this month. Please share your feedback on this update.
Who Will Be SEND? The Question Every School Should Be Asking Right Now
England’s SEND system is facing its most significant reform in a generation – and one question that Dale Pickles, our MD, has been exploring is: who will actually be SEND under the new framework? His latest blog and podcast episode unpacks the quiet but profound shift hidden within the proposed move from four areas of need to five areas of development, and what that means for the children, parents and schools involved. Read Dale’s latest blog – Who will be SEND?
While the full implications of SEND reform are still taking shape, the day-to-day work of identifying needs, tracking progress and communicating with parents continues – and reporting season is here! Whatever changes lie ahead, having clear, up-to-date evidence of pupil progress has never mattered more. This month we’re highlighting some of the most powerful time-saving reporting features across Connecting Steps and Evisense to help you get ahead, reduce the end-of-term rush, and make sure every child’s progress is clearly evidenced and easy to share.
Get a FREE trial of our new
Executive Function assessment framework!
The proposed SEND reforms have named Executive Function as a standalone development area for the first time. This means schools will need to identify and evidence support in this area. Our new framework, developed with Victoria Bagnall at Connections in Mind, helps staff identify, celebrate, and support the development of key Executive Function skills over time.
✅ Track progress in 11 areas of Executive Function development
✅ Identify each pupil’s strengths, challenges, and next steps
✅ FREE trial runs from Wed 10th June to Fri 10th July
✅ Register by 5th June to join the trial
Are you getting the most out of your pupil data?
Did you know the B Squared Analytics Platform is included FREE with Connecting Steps? It gives subject, middle and senior leaders a powerful way to dive into data without complex spreadsheets.
Track progress across a term or a year, identify who has made accelerated progress, or below expected levels of progress. Look at attainment levels and compare them to national expectations. Then create and share clear visual reports for governors that don’t overwhelm with numbers.
For pupils with SEND, you can track progress from each pupil’s individual starting point and compare it to their own previous progress. Slice data using standard groups like Pupil Premium and primary need – or create your own groups specific to your school.
Reminder: We have moved – please update your records!
From 1st April 2026 our new address is: B Squared Ltd, 6 Lakeside Business Park, Swan Lane, Sandhurst, Berkshire, GU47 9DN, UK.
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Reporting time savers
- Instantly see which students are on track with Progress Bands in Analytics – Set your own ranges for Significantly Below, Below, Expected and Above. The student view colour-codes each pupil’s progress at a glance, while bar charts and line graphs give you the whole school picture. Save and share your bands for future use – how to guide
- Get the full picture of pupil progress with Overall Progress Reports – View Linear, Non-Linear and Real Progress values to understand attainment and progress from every angle, for an individual student or a whole group. Ideal for spotting spikey profiles and demonstrating progress meaningfully – how to guide for students | how to guide for groups
- Save hours reporting with Bulk Printing – Generate reports for every student in a group in just a few clicks. Choose your report type, select all students, and receive PDFs by email in a zip folder, or post reports directly to Evisense for individual pupils in one go –
how to guide
Are you using our AI to save time
with your report writing?
Generate report summaries straight from your pupils’ assessments. You can even translate them into over 40 languages – making it easier to engage parents where English is not their first language.
Watch the video to see how Jordan Garratt from Sensory Classroom uses it in practice to save time and effort at the busiest time of year.
AI can be added to your Connecting Steps subscription for just £1 per pupil per year. To get a quote for your school, email our sales team or book an online demo to see exactly how it works.
book an AI demoNot using Connecting Steps? Book a FREE online demo to find out how to show progress from starting point for all your pupils.
book a demo
Reporting time savers
- See exactly how a skill progressed at every step with Achievement History – Enable the ‘Show achievement at time of post creation’ option in your User Preferences to see the achievement level recorded at the moment each post was created. Watch a skill move from ‘Engaged’ to ‘Mastered’ and demonstrate progress over time with ease – how to guide
- Share student progress reports directly with parents – Post any student report from Connecting Steps straight into Evisense in just a few clicks. Keep parents and staff informed with secure, visually engaging progress updates without any extra admin – how to guide
- Create reports for multiple students in one go with Bulk Printing – Select all students and generate separate PDF reports in a single action. Evisense also remembers your last print filter settings during the session, so creating similar reports for different students is even faster – how to guide
Have you tried our FREE Evisense Explorer?
Our secure, entry level social media style tool for two way communication with parents is free for pupils with a Connecting Steps licence.
Our May SENDcast Sessions are now available to view
Mental Health Awareness – training to support your students and staff
Mental Health Awareness Week (11-17th May) was a reminder of just how central emotional wellbeing is to learning. Whether you’re supporting students with SEMH needs, anxiety, school avoidance, or simply trying to look after the wellbeing of your staff team, SENDcast Sessions has over 30 expert-led online training sessions on mental health to help all year round. Here are some highlights:
Trauma-informed practice in the classroom – Dr Asha Patel
Understanding the early causes of mental health difficulties – Richard Daniel Curtis
School based anxiety and emotionally based school avoidance – Sarah-Jane Critchley
Supporting mental health and well-being in your classroom – Lorraine Petersen
Check out our latest training sessions to enhance SEND provision
Save £5 with our Spring Bundle!
Our latest sessions cover a wide range of practical and relevant SEND topics, including Ordinarily Available Provision, Alternative Provision, sensory barriers to learning, and supporting neurodivergent pupils and staff. You’ll also find sessions on trauma-informed practice, reducing the SENCO admin burden, and how to identify SEND needs – without the cost or long waiting times!
Choose any 3 of our latest sessions and save £5!
Use discount code spring3for£25 at checkout.
B Squared customers can get a 1-year subscription for your whole school to access 150+ expert-led training videos for just £100+VAT!
Have you listened to our FREE podcast?
Coming up in June
June brings episodes on overcoming barriers to reading, student self-advocacy in schools, leadership in social impact education, and screen usage among neurodivergent children and young people.
Here’s a reminder of our May episodes
- Living with hearing loss and deafness – Samantha Baines
- Neurodiversity and sport: creating safe, inclusive spaces where neurodivergent children can thrive – Liz Day
- Wellbeing, culture and inclusion – Cathal Lynch
- What do neurodiverse girls need to know about romance? – Kim McCabe
Don’t miss our Special Episodes
Dale welcomes Geoff and Nargis Soppet, founders of the Autism & ADHD Show, to discuss the upcoming events in London, Birmingham, and for the first time, Liverpool. Expect over 100 CPD-accredited learning hours, practical workshops and one-to-one clinics. The SENDcast will be exhibiting at all three – come say hi!
listen hereDale unpacks one of the most important questions in the current SEND reform debate: who will actually qualify as SEND under the new framework? He explores the shift from four areas of need to five areas of development and what it means for children, families and schools. Essential listening for SENCOs and school leaders.
listen hereBe the first to hear when new episodes go live!
Subscribe for FREE to receive a weekly email with a heads up on the latest episode, so you always know what’s coming up.
MORE NEWS
Welcome to our latest B Squared Gold Partner
Evaluating the impact of SEND interventions
Hugh Gaitskell Primary School in Leeds has 532 pupils on roll, speaking over 67 languages, with a diverse community and 53% of its SEND population being pupil premium.
“Using B Squared’s Connecting Steps is of great value for our teachers, leaders and pupils. It is particularly valuable when evaluating the progress of pupils taking part in evidence-based interventions. Where a child has shown little progress, it allows us to re-evaluate which intervention would work best for them. We consider it an invaluable monitoring tool.”
Cat Daniels AMBDA, SENDCO, Hugh Gaitskell Primary School
Get great rewards as a B Squared Gold Partner!
30% off Evisense
20% off Connecting Steps annual hosting
20% off SENDcast Sessions online training
Showcase your school, support others, and gain exclusive discounts and benefits from us.
We’d love to hear your school’s assessment story
Book a relaxed 30-minute chat with our MD, Dale, and we’ll record a short video showcasing how your school approaches assessment. As a thank you, we’ll give your school a FREE 1-year SENDcast Sessions subscription to access 150+ online training sessions for all staff. Book a chat with Dale
Come and see us this summer!
The B Squared team will be out and about this June representing B Squared and The SENDcast – please come and say hi if you’re there!
- National Neurodiversity Show (North West) – 11th June, The Edge Wigan
- Autism & ADHD Show (London) – 19–20th June, Business Design Centre
- Autism & ADHD Show (Birmingham) – 26–27th June, NEC
And July is looking busy too – on 3rd July we’ll be at the Festival of Education, NASEN Live, and the Autism & ADHD Show (Liverpool) all on the same day!
Are you supporting pupils with SEMH needs?
The impact of Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs in schools is huge – and it’s growing every year. Our SEMH assessment framework helps you identify and support students struggling with behaviour, attendance, and emotional wellbeing. Covering birth to age 15, it gives you a clear profile of each pupil’s SEMH needs. Use it alongside your existing frameworks to identify strengths and needs, plan targeted support, and track meaningful steps of progress. Find out more
Need help? Book a FREE 15-minute online support session
Our friendly support team is here to help with any questions and guide you through whatever you need. Don’t just take our word for it, here’s what our customers say:
“The support I received was excellent.”
Andrew Grant – West Lancs Community High School
“Meeting was quick and easy to arrange and answered all our questions.”
Kathryn Jones – Victoria Primary School
Please share your feedback
We want to make sure that our monthly updates are useful for customers, so we’re really keen to get your feedback. Let us know what you think
