The gap between what schools need and what's available to them is much smaller than it looks.

School leaders aren't struggling because good support doesn't exist.

They're struggling because finding it, through procurement, supplier searches, budget sign-offs, takes longer than the problem can wait.

What one school teacher told us.

You know what your school needs this term.

Maybe it's been on the agenda for months.

Staff wellbeing. Inclusion support. A CPD programme that actually works. An intervention that moves the attendance needle.

The priority is clear. The route to it isn't.

And every week it stays on the list is a week the gap widens.

Right now, that gap is becoming a chasm.

The National Education Union's latest survey found that 86% of teachers identify insufficient staffing as a barrier to inclusion, while annual SEND costs have exceeded £11 billion and continue to rise. Over 70% of children with additional needs more than a million pupils have no legally enforceable rights to support.

The government's February 2026 White Paper, Every Child Achieving and Thriving, proposes a new legal requirement for Individual Support Plans for every child with SEND. But as one headteacher told us last week:

The pressure isn't reducing. It's becoming more structured and schools that can name their priority clearly are the ones finding support fastest.

That's why LocaeRise exists.

Not to add noise. Not to fill your inbox with vendors.

To close the gap between what schools need and the support that's already built for it, without the usual process getting in the way.

29,000+ UK schools on the platform. 700+ verified vendors across wellbeing, inclusion, CPD and academic support.

Ready for. Real matches. Shorter routes.

One platform that has successfully pioneered this approach in the UK is LetsLocalise, which matches companies with local school initiatives for donations, volunteering, and supply chain partnerships.

To date, they have partnered with 730+ schools (350,000 students), mobilised £650,000+ in value, and supported 65,000 students through their matchmaking model.

They've worked with corporate partners including L'Oreal, Legal & General, and the London Stock Exchange Group.

This shows what's possible when you match the right provider to the right school need without schools having to do the heavy lifting of searching and vetting.

One primary school in our network had been trying to improve in-class support for non-verbal KS1 pupils for over a year. They knew what they needed. They just couldn't find the right partner through the usual channels.

They joined LocaeRise Match, named their One Big Change, and within two weeks were matched with a local SEND provider already working with similar pupils in their region.

No procurement marathon. No "send us a brochure." No budget objections.

The pilot is now running this term. The school leader told us:

Schools that name one priority, one clear, specific thing, find the right support faster.

Not because they have more money.

Because clarity is what opens the right conversations.

This quarter we're focused on making sure schools with a named priority connect with the right vendors before the end of term, not after.

Is this you a school leader who knows what their school needs but hasn't found the right route yet?

Reply with your One Big Change. One sentence. What would make the most difference before July?

We read every reply.

👉 Or claim your school now

Go here and search schools, register and find your school, then name your OBC, we have a helper online to help you work out your OBC as you claim your school: locaerisematch.com

Yvonne

LocaeShift

Where school buying really moves.