Tuesday 13 May, 10:00, Thatcher Room, Portcullis House
The Education Committee will examine the accountability system
surrounding SEND services provided by schools and local
authorities.
MPs will hear from Ofsted, the Care and Quality Commission (CQC),
the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, and the
Independent Provider for Special Education Advice, a leading
charity in the field of SEND law in England.
The cross-party Committee has heard that an increasing numbers of
parents, whose children have Education, Health and Care Plans,
are having to take their local council to court, in SEND
tribunals, to secure the support their child is entitled to at
school.
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, which hears
individuals' complaints and can issue fines to councils, is also
receiving high numbers of cases relating to SEND.
Meanwhile, Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission, which carry
out joint inspections, found that 31% of local areas had
“widespread and/or systemic failings leading to significant
concerns” for those with SEND, according to an NAO report.
The Committee is likely to ask about Ofsted's proposed new
inspection framework, how it will define inclusion and how it
will be used to measure schools' performance on supporting pupils
with SEND.
There may also be questions about how effectively the CQC's and
Ofsted's inspections take into account local authorities' legal
compliance or schools' policies around admissions and exclusions,
as well as whether stronger penalties should be put in place for
inadequate provision.
MPs may also ask whether different types of school are more
difficult to hold to account than others, and whether there are
ways to strengthen the voices of parents and their routes to
holding organisations to account.
Witnesses from
10:00
- Sharon Chappell, Assistant Ombudsman, Local Government &
Social Care Ombudsman
- Georgina Downard, Senior Solicitor, Independent Provider of
Special Education Advice
- Lucy Harte, Deputy Director of Multi-agency Operations, Care
Quality Commission
- Adam Sproston, Senior Inspector for SEND and AP,
Ofsted
