Who We Are

The Special Education Needs Initiative in Pakistan (SEN-i Pakistan) is the outcome of decades of experience with special needs in the UK. The Initiative is funded by the corporate foundation, CareTech Foundation, and supported by the Children of Sheikh Abdul Rashid and Fahmida (COSARAF) Foundation, in Karachi.

Through its extensive work with mental health in Pakistan alongside the British Asian Trust, the Foundation observed critical gaps. A lack of public funding, infrastructure, and expertise has left Pakistan’s education system in urgent need of intervention to support 2-17 year-olds with SEND requirements. Children with SEND require resources that will enable them to develop similar to their non-SEND peers. Parents and caregivers of SEND children also require support and education.

Our Vision

A Pakistan where children with special educational needs have equitable access to inclusive education, and where schools have the systems, leadership and expertise to support every learner to participate and achieve their full potential.

Our Mission

SEN-i works with schools, educators and partners to strengthen the systems, skills and resources needed to identify and support learners with special educational needs.

Through evidence-informed training, assessment, school evaluation and practical tools, SEN-i supports schools to build sustainable approaches to inclusive education within the Pakistani context.

As the programme moves into its next phase, The Noor Project in Lahore and Fahmida Begum Foundation in Karachi are being developed as SEN-i Model Schools and Centres of Excellence. These schools will operationalise the SENCO model, demonstrating how dedicated SEN leadership, identification, assessment, individualised support, inclusive pedagogy, and collaboration can be embedded within school systems.

The learning from these Model Schools will inform approaches that can be adapted and scaled through SEN-i’s wider network of schools and education partners across Pakistan.