Asked by: Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to collect data on identified special educational needs, including but not limited to dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD and autism, to ensure sufficient capacity to successfully support affected individuals going through the education system.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department collects data on 14 primary need types which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/complete-the-school-census/data-items-2025-to-2026.
This information is published in two publications, accessible at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england/2025-26 and https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans/2026.
Information on children and pupils with dyslexia and dyspraxia hyperactive disorder is collected as part of the category of specific learning difficulty as defined by paragraph 6.31 of the current special educational needs code of practice. This category includes a range of conditions, also including dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia.
The department is committed to supporting local areas to create high-quality places that are suitable to meet the needs of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The department wants more children and young people to access the right support in a local mainstream setting, enabling them to learn alongside their peers and siblings, instead of travelling a long way to a special school.
For this reason, we are investing at least £3.7 billion in high needs capital funding between 2025-2026 and 2029-2030, to support local authorities to provide places for children and young people with SEND, or who require alternative provision across early years settings, schools, and colleges.
Asked by: Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to restrict university entrance to those who have passed GCSE English or equivalent.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government maintains the higher education (HE) system under review to ensure it delivers good outcomes for students and value for money for the taxpayer.
The Office for Students identified some providers recruiting students with insufficient English language proficiency to undertake the rigorous studies that an HE course demands. Students must not be mis-sold courses they are not equipped to undertake.
As announced on 25 June, we will consult in the autumn to canvass views on whether and how the government might introduce a minimum English language requirement for accessing student finance. We will be testing how the government should balance robust standards with supporting access and participation for students from different backgrounds and protected characteristics. We are keen to hear views from a wide range of groups and people, and we will carefully consider the equalities impact before making any changes.
Asked by: Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that the Experts at Hand offer will include experts in dyslexia, dyscalculia, and other recognised special educational needs within the neurodiverse spectrum.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Experts at Hand offer is primarily focused on providing mainstream settings with expert advice and guidance from education and healthcare experts to help them identify and meet a range of special educational needs including neurodiverse conditions. This includes strengthening early identification and supporting more effective and inclusive practice.
Experts at Hand works alongside existing statutory provision and does not replace established school led approaches or specialist one-to-one services, including speech and language therapy and occupational therapy.
Experts at Hand is in addition to enhanced teacher and support staff training to ensure all schools can provide a high-quality universal offer, and new National Inclusion Standards supporting teachers to use evidence-based strategies to identify and respond to pupils' needs.
Asked by: Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure dyslexia, dyscalculia, and other commonly used terms are used when communicating with pupils and teachers regarding support packages for students with special educational needs.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Access to support should not be dependent on a child or young person having a diagnosis, and a diagnosis alone does not help a teacher know what strategies to use to support that child in the classroom.
The department is clear that teachers and educators should use plain English and commonly understood terms when communicating support for children and young people with special educational needs.
As part of our special educational needs and disabilities reforms, we will place a duty on settings to produce an Individual Support Plan (ISP) for any child or young person receiving targeted, targeted plus or specialist support. ISPs will be developed by settings together with parents and young people, giving every child or young person receiving targeted or specialist support a clear and consistent record of their needs and the help they receive.
Asked by: Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the support granted to those with an Education and Health Care Plan continues under the proposals in the Schools White Paper, and how this will be monitored.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Under our proposed reforms, education, health and care (EHC) plans will continue, guaranteeing statutory entitlements to education and health provision, and will be reviewed regularly. Educational provision in reformed EHC plans will be underpinned by evidence-based, nationally consistent specialist provision packages. Any child with an EHC plan as of the legislation’s commencement date will retain their EHC plan and associated provision until they finish their current phase of education, or choose to move to the new system. Children with an EHC plan in the early years will retain their EHC plan and associated provision until they finish the primary phase, when it will be reviewed.
The Children’s Commissioner will have a role in providing independent oversight, monitoring and scrutiny of the implementation of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reform. Other reforms will improve and strengthen processes for resolving individual complaints relating to SEND provision, with the tribunal remaining as the legal backstop for the most fundamental EHC plan decisions.
Asked by: Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that Ofsted reports on schools will consider the identification of, and support for, those with special educational needs within individual schools.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Section 5(5B) of the Education Act 2005 places a clear duty on Ofsted to report on how well schools meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). During all inspections, inspectors give particular attention to the experiences and outcomes of pupils who face barriers to learning, including those with SEND. Our new inspection framework has ‘inclusion’ as a specific graded area for the first time, ensuring all children are supported to achieve and thrive regardless of need or background. They evaluate how leaders support these pupils, the rationale for their approach, and the evidence underpinning it. This includes discussions with leaders, reviewing data, speaking with pupils, sampling cases and considering parents’ views. Inspection reports always include an evaluation of the experiences and achievement of pupils with SEND. Further detail is set out in Ofsted’s attached toolkit.
Asked by: Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the new Individual Support Plans for people with Special Educational Needs will have an enforcement system; and if so what steps will be taken to ensure the process of the enforcement system is known to teachers and guardians of pupils with Individual Support Plans.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Individual Support Plans (ISPs) will provide a record of need and provision for all children or young people with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND), including those with an education, health and care plan. ISPs will enable settings to work alongside parents, providing a single, consistent record of a child’s needs, support or the reasonable adjustments which are in place and what further changes or adaptations may be needed.
Under the proposals, where there are concerns about provision, parents and young people would be able to raise these directly with the setting, including through the improved schools complaints process where necessary. We are proposing to strengthen this complaints process by including an independent SEND expert on panels to consider complaints, ensuring parents can have confidence.
We will take this forward alongside wider work set out in the Schools White Paper to improve the whole school complaints system, including exploring digital solutions and setting out clearer handling processes.
Asked by: Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether Individual Support Plans for people with Special Educational Needs will refer to specific conditions and include structures based on specific conditions, or make generic points about additional support for people with Special Education Needs.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Individual Support Plans (ISPs) will be tailored to the individual child. They will be developed by settings together with parents and young people, giving every child or young person with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) a clear and consistent record of their needs and the help they receive so that support is joined‑up, timely and centred on what will help them to thrive.
ISPs will set out key information, such as a child or young person’s identified needs, provision, intended outcomes and any reasonable adjustments, as applicable.
Asked by: Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure appropriate assistive technology is made available in mainstream schools to assist those with Special Educational Needs.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department is committed to supporting the effective use of assistive technology to help children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) achieve and thrive in mainstream education. We recognise that assistive technology can play a key role in removing barriers to learning, and many education settings are already using it for this purpose, as well as to build confidence, independence and promote greater inclusion.
We are supporting settings to make informed decisions about assistive technology and increase confidence. For example, we have invested over £1.6 million to pilot assistive technology lending libraries in 30 local authorities, enabling up to 3,800 mainstream settings to trial products with pupils before purchasing.
Training on assistive technology is included in the mandatory Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework from September 2025, and the NPQ for special educational needs coordinators (SENCOs) includes content on how it can support teaching and learning for pupils with SEND. We are also developing introductory assistive technology training materials with sector partners to support effective use in the classroom.
Asked by: Lord Addington (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps are they taking to ensure that problems with cognition and learning are recognised areas in the new SEN framework and SEND codes of practice.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The ‘Every Child Achieving and Thriving’ Schools White Paper and consultation on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reform included a commitment to update the SEND Code of Practice.
This will include setting out refreshed ‘Areas of Development’, replacing the current ‘Areas of Need’, to better reflect key areas of child development. In the consultation, we sought views on five proposed areas of development: executive function; motor and physical; sensory; speech, language and communication; and social and emotional development.
These will underpin new National Inclusion Standards and Specialist Provision Packages. The Standards will set out what ordinarily available provision should be available across the 0-25 system, as well as evidence-based tools, strategies and approaches for educators to identify and support children and young people with additional needs.
We are reviewing consultation responses before setting out the government’s response and next steps, including any amendments to the ’Areas of Development’. We will consult separately on proposed Code changes.