The Quiet Triumphs Nobody Puts on the School Website

Schools celebrate success in lots of visible ways: certificates, awards, photos on the website. And those things matter. But in SEND education, some of the most important achievements are the ones hardly anyone sees.

They are quiet. Often fleeting. Sometimes noticed by just one adult.

A child who manages to walk into the classroom without stopping at the door.
A pupil who tolerates a new noise for a few seconds longer than before.
A moment of regulation where there would once have been distress.

These are not small steps. They take huge effort.

Progress for SEND pupils rarely fits neatly into data or percentages. It’s emotional, sensory, and deeply personal. It’s not linear either. What is possible one day might not be possible the next, and that does not mean nothing has been learned.

Many SEND children show extraordinary bravery in what looks like an ordinary school day: lining up, answering the register, wearing a uniform, entering a busy hall. When they manage these moments, even once, it matters.

And behind many of these triumphs is an adult who noticed like a teaching assistant, a lunchtime supervisor, a teacher, a SENCo who quietly adjust, support, choose connection over compliance.

When we only celebrate the loud, visible successes, we risk overlooking what truly counts for some children. Recognising quiet triumphs tells pupils that their effort is seen, their progress is real, and they belong.

Sometimes success is simply this:
Today, the child felt safe.
Today, they trusted us.
Today, they stayed.

Those moments may never make it onto the school website - but they are the foundation of everything else.