Education Secretary said:
“The NAO's report exposes a system that has been neglected to the
point of crisis, with children and families with SEND quite
simply being failed on every measure.
“Every child and young person deserves the best life chances and
the opportunity to achieve and thrive. But at the moment far
too few are being given that chance in a system that is too
skewed towards specialist provision and over-reliant on EHC plans
– often only to the benefit of families who have the resources to
fight for support.
“I am determined to rebuild families' confidence in a system so
many rely on – so, there will be no more sticking plaster
politics and short-termism when it comes to the life chances of
some of our most vulnerable children. The reform families
are crying out for will take time, but with a greater focus on
mainstream provision and more early intervention, we will deliver
the change that is so desperately needed.”
On background
- The Department for Education will strengthen accountability
on mainstream settings to be inclusive including through Ofsted,
support the mainstream workforce to increase their SEND
expertise, and encourage schools to set up Resourced Provision or
SEN units to increase capacity in mainstream schools.
- Work has already started with increased training for early
years providers to identify and support children with SEND
earlier. In July 2024, this Government announced that funded
support for the 11,100 schools registered for the Nuffield Early
Language Intervention (NELI) programme would continue for 2024-25
to help pupils who need extra support with their speech and
language development find their voice.
-
The Curriculum and
Assessment Review will look at the barriers which hold
children and young people back from the best life chances –
including those with SEND.
- To ensure that improving inclusion in mainstream schools is
the heart of our plans to improve opportunity for those children
with SEND, the Secretary of State has restructured the Department
for Education so that SEND and Alternative Provision policy comes
under the responsibility of the Schools Group.
- The Department for Education will work with the sector as
essential and valued partners to ensure our approach is fully
planned and delivered in concert with parents, schools, councils,
and other people who work with children.
- On Thursday 24th October, we are also publishing an
independently commissioned insights report from the Delivering
Better Value programme which provides dedicated support and
funding to over 50 local authorities – chosen based on those
facing particular financial challenges. We are also publishing a
toolkit to help other local areas to learn from the experience of
those on the DBV programme.
