Schools minister Georgia Gould will hear the public’s views on proposals to create a national framework for support available to pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) at a series of events aimed at shaping the government’s reform plans.
The Department for Education has announced that regional and online events will be held from today, which it said would put “parents’ experiences at the heart of SEND reform”.
The department will seek public views on a range of proposals put forward by think tanks and experts.
Access to independent advocacy
This includes providing a national framework for support available to children with SEND across all settings, children having written records of support and giving families access to independent advocacy.
But these are not official proposals being put forward by the government.
The announcement of a new engagement programme comes after the government pushed back the publication of a Schools White Paper, which is expected to set out its vision for the future of the SEND system, into 2026.
Ms Gould will host nine face-to-face events, run with the Council for Disabled Children, and five online events covering the department’s “five principles of reform”.
The engagement events are said to be based around five themes:
- Early intervention.
- Local provision - the DfE said this focus is to ensure “young people can learn at a school close to their home, alongside their peers, as well as the vital role of special provision for complex needs”.
- Fairness - to ensure “every school has the resources and capability to meet changing needs, stopping parents fighting for support and ensuring clear legal safeguards for children and parents”.
- Effective practice - which the DfE describes as “grounded in evidence to ensure excellent long-term outcomes”.
- Shared working - the DfE said this means education, health and care services working in partnership with local government, families, teachers, experts and representative bodies.
‘Biggest’ national conversation on SEND
The government has said it will deliver the biggest national conversation on SEND in a generation.
Ms Gould said: “For too long, families have felt unheard and left to battle a system that simply doesn’t deliver for their children. We’re committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity for children with SEND, which is why we’re putting lived experience at the heart of our reforms and creating a direct line to parents across the nation.
“We want this to be the biggest national conversation on SEND in a generation, and I urge parents, teachers and all those with views to participate and help us deliver lasting reform.”
Tom Rees, chair of the DfE’s expert advisory group for inclusion, said: “Over the past year, the expert advisory group has enjoyed spending considerable time listening to and engaging with schools, parents, children and young people, as well as experts and organisations across the sector.
“There is a strong consensus that the system doesn’t work well enough and needs reforming so that it works for all children. It is also clear that there is a lot of good practice that exists within schools, which we can build on and learn from.”
SEND funding row
It comes amid an ongoing political row about how the government will be able to deliver a sustainable SEND system.
Last week, the government announced that the risk associated with overspends in SEND provision will be moved from councils to central government from 2028-29 and managed within the overall government budget.
The Office for Budget Responsibility warned that this could add an additional £6 billion per year spending pressure and that no savings have been identified to offset this.
In Parliament yesterday, Conservative shadow education secretary Laura Trott said: “The Spending Review has set departmental budgets for the year in question. There isn’t £6 billion down the back of the sofa.”
She asked whether £6 billion would come out of SEND spending or from schools. Education secretary Bridget Phillipson insisted that the money will not be coming from the core schools budget.
Ms Phillipson said: “Let me be absolutely clear, these are council deficits. They will not be coming from school budgets.
“Over the course of this Parliament, we are investing more in SEND. We are picking up the pieces of a system on its knees left behind by the party opposite.”
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