Meanwhile, at Bengeworth CE Academy in Evesham, emotional literacy programmes and peer-led initiatives support pupil wellbeing. This reflects a broader culture of trust, collaboration and professional agency among Challenge Partners schools. Hubs and spokesThe report also highlights special schools’ growing system leadership roles. This is indicative of how special schools (which form 22 per cent of the 540 schools in Challenge Partners) are playing a growing outreach role, supporting mainstream settings to meet increasingly numerous and complex special needs. Schools are adapting with more coherence, using data, collaboration and inclusive leadership to refine their responses to entrenched challenges.