Commenting on preview summaries of the
SEND Green Paper which is to be published today
(Tuesday), Dr Mary
Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education
Union,
said:
"We are relieved that Special
Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative
Provision (AP) education are seen as a priority for the Education
Secretary, and we agree a new approach is needed. The rising cost
of educational support for students with SEND has been clear for
a number of years.
"The much-delayed Green Paper offers
some positive proposals that demonstrate that the government has
been listening to the profession to some degree. A standard
Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) may reduce workload for
the school staff responsible for carrying out these important
assessments.
"National standards for SEND have the
potential to act as a catalyst to better support, but they must
come with sufficient funding. Collaboration across
agencies, and the personnel and financial resource this requires,
is vital if the new National Standards are to work on the ground.
Good outcomes for children with SEND are particularly
dependent on retaining experienced teachers and experienced
support staff. This Green Paper must ensure that school budgets
enable leaders to deploy enough staff across the timetable.
‘Catch up’ for children with SEND will need more than the
National Tutoring Programme, so staffing levels and
expertise in the school will be the ‘make or break’
factor.
"NEU analysis indicates that the High
Needs Block should be £2.5bn a year higher, assuming the 2021/22
number of EHCPs were funded at the 2015/16 rate. Parents
want to see the right support for their son or daughter when it’s
required and too often schools can’t meet parental expectations
because of funding constraints. Schools cannot increase parental
levels of confidence whilst juggling real terms cuts and losing
essential skilled staff. Staff retention is the elephant in the
room in this Green Paper.
"A new national framework for councils
for banding and tariffs of High Needs must be set at the level to
match actual need to avoid levelling down and to address gaps in
provision. Starting from the premise of capping funding will not
increase staff or parental confidence in the SEND system or grow
collaborative practice. Aligning funding bands and tariffs
with the National Standards will set a ceiling on funding for
more specialist provision and may leave schools with
responsibility but insufficient funding for young people who need
more specialised support.
"The timing of this is delicate and
complex. We think that the Government should not plan to reduce
places in specialist settings until it has shown it can
successfully provide the tools, staffing and flexibility in
mainstream settings.
"Some of the expertise from which we
can and should learn is to be found within the excellent teaching
in Alternative Provision. The NEU endorses the aim to fund AP
differently, with less reliance on place funding and greater
opportunities to attract and retain experienced staff and plan
for the longer term.
"We support the planned call for
evidence on unregistered provision and improved oversight of
pupil transitions. Better collection of data on the
disproportionate exclusions of specific groups of young people is
required.
"With the SEND Green Paper following
in quick succession on the Schools White Paper, there is a clear
desire by the Education Secretary to make announcements about how
schools can respond to the pandemic. But leaders, SENCOs and
school staff are looking for actual support and proper recovery
funding to help them remove barriers to learning and well-being,
rather than new academic targets and more pressure from Ofsted.
The funding challenge remains."
