Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 26 February (HL4587), which sector experts and stakeholders (1) the Neurodivergence Task and Finish Group, and (2) the Expert Advisory Group for Inclusion, have invited for collaboration; and whether those invited included experts on dyscalculia and stakeholders engaged with dyscalculia.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

In the terms of reference for both the Neurodivergence Task and Finish Group (NDTFG) and the Expert Advisory Group for Inclusion (EAG), the department has been clear that in developing their advice, both groups are expected to draw on a wide range of inputs.

The groups have engaged stakeholders such as children and young people, parents and carers, teachers, unions and employer organisations, local authorities and wider special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) sector experts, as well as working alongside the department’s SEND strategic advisor, Dame Christine Lenehan. The EAG has also recently launched a sector-led call for evidence, working with ImpactED Group, to identify examples of good, inclusive practice in mainstream schools across the country. The NDTFG has engaged with stakeholders working on dyscalculia and will continue to work with them as they develop their recommendations and advice to Ministers.