Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Epping Forest)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that further education colleges are included in the design and implementation of the SEND reforms set out in the Schools White Paper, including the new Individual Support Plan system and the Inclusive Mainstream Fund.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Our special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reform proposals, including the new Individual Support Plans and the Inclusive Mainstream Fund, aim to improve help and support for children and young people with SEND up to age 25. The consultation document explains the changes we plan to make and asks for comments from everyone with an interest.
Our proposals were informed by our national conversation on SEND, through a series of online conversations and regional events. For the post-16 sector this also included two roundtables, a series of follow-up discussions with key stakeholders on emerging themes and visits to colleges by departmental officials and Ministers.
During the consultation period, we are engaging with the post-16 sector in several ways, including a series of webinar events, facilitated by post-16 membership organisations, which are aimed directly at providers, and including representatives of the post-16 sector in key working groups such as the SEND development group. These seek to provide clarity on key proposals and offer an opportunity for open discussion so that providers feel able to make informed written responses to the consultation.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure young carers with neurodiverse learning needs are able to access additional support at school.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Every child deserves a high quality, inclusive education establishment in their community, including young carers with neurodiverse learning needs.
We have now announced plans to reform the special educational needs and disabilities system, with further information available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/every-child-achieving-and-thriving.
The department will introduce a new universal offer, ensuring all children receive the right support in mainstream schools. For all those with additional needs there will be layers of targeted support that remove barriers to learning, with schools working alongside parents and local partnerships.
Regional improvements for standards and excellence has made a universal offer to equip mainstream schools with the expertise, evidence and networks they need to embed consistently high quality, inclusive practice and improve outcomes for every child, including young carers. Ofsted’s renewed inspection framework, introduced in November 2025, focuses explicitly on inclusion and their inspection toolkit is clear that inspectors will consider the impact of a school’s work to improve the attendance, behaviour, inclusive personal development and wellbeing of young carers.
Furthermore, this government is preparing a cross-government action plan for unpaid carers of all ages which it plans to publish later this year. This will include actions to strengthen the support that is provided to young carers.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 28 January (HL Deb col 1030), what inspection arrangements they are proposing for the governance of single academy trusts.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill introduces new powers for Ofsted to inspect academy trusts. These inspections will focus on trusts, rather than schools. The detailed arrangements will be set out in secondary legislation and subject to proposed consultation.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she will consider the experiences of SEND children in SATs, and include reform of SATs and other statutory assessment in the government's plans to put inclusion at the heart of education.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Statutory tests and assessments at primary school help measure the attainment of pupils in relation to the standards set out in the national curriculum and help teachers and parents identify where pupils may need additional support in a certain subject area. The department’s special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms are designed to ensure that every child can access a high quality, inclusive education, with early and consistent support in place across the system.
Key stage 2 tests are subject to robust test development processes, which include reviews involving serving teachers and experts in SEND, as well as trials with hundreds of year 6 pupils. Children with SEND have a range of needs and abilities, and it is important they can participate in assessments to demonstrate their achievements. Schools can utilise a range of access arrangements where appropriate, while for any children with SEND and others who are working below the standards of the national curriculum assessments there are alternative teacher assessments.
Primary assessments were reviewed as part of the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review 2025, led by Professor Becky Francis. In line with the Review’s recommendations, we are strengthening the national curriculum so that it is more accessible and ambitious for all pupils, including those with SEND.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether proposed SEND reforms will consider the experiences of SEND children with regards to SATs.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Statutory tests and assessments at primary school help measure the attainment of pupils in relation to the standards set out in the national curriculum and help teachers and parents identify where pupils may need additional support in a certain subject area. The department’s special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms are designed to ensure that every child can access a high quality, inclusive education, with early and consistent support in place across the system.
Key stage 2 tests are subject to robust test development processes, which include reviews involving serving teachers and experts in SEND, as well as trials with hundreds of year 6 pupils. Children with SEND have a range of needs and abilities, and it is important they can participate in assessments to demonstrate their achievements. Schools can utilise a range of access arrangements where appropriate, while for any children with SEND and others who are working below the standards of the national curriculum assessments there are alternative teacher assessments.
Primary assessments were reviewed as part of the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review 2025, led by Professor Becky Francis. In line with the Review’s recommendations, we are strengthening the national curriculum so that it is more accessible and ambitious for all pupils, including those with SEND.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the Government plans to publish the detailed national SEND standards and how compliance with those standards will be monitored and enforced across local authorities.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The National Inclusion Standards will set out evidence-based tools, strategies and approaches to identify and support children and young people with additional needs. Settings should consider the National Inclusion Standards when planning their Inclusion Strategy. To hold schools accountable for how they plan to deliver inclusive practice and meet the needs of their cohort, they will be required to produce an inclusion strategy outlining their plan to embed inclusive practice and meet the needs of their cohort. There will be a legal duty on settings to produce an Individual Support Plan (ISP) for every child or young person receiving targeted or specialist support. Ofsted will draw on settings’ inclusion strategies to assess effectiveness of leaders plans, implementing and delivering inclusive practice, and will consider the use and quality of ISPs in inspections. Local areas have been commissioned to develop local special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reform plans setting out how partners across education, health and care will deliver SEND reform locally.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department provides to schools and local authorities on recognising and supporting pupils with a Pathological Demand Avoidance profile when developing an Education, Health and Care Plan.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
All children will benefit from a strengthened universal offer of high quality, inclusive teaching in every mainstream setting, with early identification of needs and evidence-based support as standard. On top of the universal offer, we propose that there will be three flexible layers of support for those that need it. These layers are Targeted, Targeted Plus and Specialist. These layers will be guided by the National Inclusion Standards, which will provide evidence-informed tools and strategies for identifying and supporting children’s needs, including for children with profiles of need such as Pathological Demand Avoidance. Children in early years settings, mainstream schools and colleges will benefit from access to education and support from health professionals without long waits for assessments.
Children will not need a statutory education, health and care (EHC) plan to receive Targeted or Targeted Plus support, as there will be a duty on schools and funding to provide it. Settings will have a statutory duty to record and monitor special educational needs and provision in an Individual Support Plan for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.
For those with complex needs, we are developing new Specialist Provision Packages (SPPs), designed with independent experts and tested with parents, and intended to each include a description of the need profile it is designed to support. SPPs will underpin the right to the educational provision set out in an EHC plan, and we propose that only those children and young people who need an SPP will have an EHC plan in future.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will conduct an Impact Assessment of the SEND reforms on early years settings supporting children with additional needs.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Impact assessments were published alongside the consultation to aid engagement during the consultation period.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will conduct an Impact Assessment of the SEND reforms on children and young people with Education, Health and Care Plans.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Impact assessments were published alongside the consultation to aid engagement during the consultation period.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will conduct an Impact Assessment of the SEND reforms on mainstream schools’ workload and resource requirements.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Impact assessments were published alongside the consultation to aid engagement during the consultation period.