Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of a new multi-sensory impairment education fund to support children with multi-sensory impairment.
Answered by Will Quince
I refer the hon. Member for Huddersfield to the answer I gave on 8 March 2022 to Question 133247 and to the answer I gave on 22 March to Question 138327.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has had recent discussions with the leadership of United Learning on waiting times for assessments of children with special education needs within their schools and academies.
Answered by Will Quince
The department closely monitors the timeliness of local authority assessments of education, health and care (EHC) plans. In the calendar year 2020, national special educational needs (SEN) 2 data showed that the proportion of plans completed within 20 weeks was 58% (in Kirklees it was 83.4%). The department recognises there is variation across local authorities in assessment and that delays may have an effect on the delivery of provision that is needed by children and young people. That is why local authorities can make provision and placements available during an assessment, rather than waiting for the final plan to be issued.
The department is committed to supporting and monitoring local authorities and their partners to improve special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services, including providing direct support and challenge to individual areas, and delivering regular training programmes on statutory EHC plan duties. Additionally, the department works with SEND and National Health Service England (NHSE) Advisers on improvement work with local areas where significant performance issues are identified in an Ofsted/Care Quality Commission (CQC) joint area SEND inspection. We are currently working with partners on a new area SEND inspection framework.
The SEND and Alternative Provision Green Paper was published on 29 March 2022. These set out a suite of proposed reforms that seek to create a coherent education, health and care system that works in the interests of all children in England and levels up opportunities. The department is providing opportunities for children, parents, carers and those working across the SEND system to provide feedback during the 13-week consultation period.
In the 2022/23 financial year, local authorities will have access to £54.1 billion core spending power (£3.7 billion more than this financial year and a 4.5% growth in real terms) to deliver their services, including for children and young people with SEND. As part of this, the government also boosted the social care grant, increasing it to over £2.3 billion.
United Learning consists of two charities, which are responsible for the operation of the Group’s schools. The Schools White Paper sets out the vision for a stronger and fairer school system that works for every child, encouraging the growth of the best school trusts as the collaborative structure best suited to supporting quality teaching. This will be delivered in close alignment with the findings of the SEND Review.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with the leadership of United Learning and other groupings of state-funded and fee-paying independent schools regarding their provision for children with special educational needs.
Answered by Will Quince
The department closely monitors the timeliness of local authority assessments of education, health and care (EHC) plans. In the calendar year 2020, national special educational needs (SEN) 2 data showed that the proportion of plans completed within 20 weeks was 58% (in Kirklees it was 83.4%). The department recognises there is variation across local authorities in assessment and that delays may have an effect on the delivery of provision that is needed by children and young people. That is why local authorities can make provision and placements available during an assessment, rather than waiting for the final plan to be issued.
The department is committed to supporting and monitoring local authorities and their partners to improve special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services, including providing direct support and challenge to individual areas, and delivering regular training programmes on statutory EHC plan duties. Additionally, the department works with SEND and National Health Service England (NHSE) Advisers on improvement work with local areas where significant performance issues are identified in an Ofsted/Care Quality Commission (CQC) joint area SEND inspection. We are currently working with partners on a new area SEND inspection framework.
The SEND and Alternative Provision Green Paper was published on 29 March 2022. These set out a suite of proposed reforms that seek to create a coherent education, health and care system that works in the interests of all children in England and levels up opportunities. The department is providing opportunities for children, parents, carers and those working across the SEND system to provide feedback during the 13-week consultation period.
In the 2022/23 financial year, local authorities will have access to £54.1 billion core spending power (£3.7 billion more than this financial year and a 4.5% growth in real terms) to deliver their services, including for children and young people with SEND. As part of this, the government also boosted the social care grant, increasing it to over £2.3 billion.
United Learning consists of two charities, which are responsible for the operation of the Group’s schools. The Schools White Paper sets out the vision for a stronger and fairer school system that works for every child, encouraging the growth of the best school trusts as the collaborative structure best suited to supporting quality teaching. This will be delivered in close alignment with the findings of the SEND Review.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to monitor and track the progress of assessments for children with special educational needs for the purposes of ensuring that assessments are (a) carried out in a timely manner and (b) effective in determining the needs of each child.
Answered by Will Quince
The department closely monitors the timeliness of local authority assessments of education, health and care (EHC) plans. In the calendar year 2020, national special educational needs (SEN) 2 data showed that the proportion of plans completed within 20 weeks was 58% (in Kirklees it was 83.4%). The department recognises there is variation across local authorities in assessment and that delays may have an effect on the delivery of provision that is needed by children and young people. That is why local authorities can make provision and placements available during an assessment, rather than waiting for the final plan to be issued.
The department is committed to supporting and monitoring local authorities and their partners to improve special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services, including providing direct support and challenge to individual areas, and delivering regular training programmes on statutory EHC plan duties. Additionally, the department works with SEND and National Health Service England (NHSE) Advisers on improvement work with local areas where significant performance issues are identified in an Ofsted/Care Quality Commission (CQC) joint area SEND inspection. We are currently working with partners on a new area SEND inspection framework.
The SEND and Alternative Provision Green Paper was published on 29 March 2022. These set out a suite of proposed reforms that seek to create a coherent education, health and care system that works in the interests of all children in England and levels up opportunities. The department is providing opportunities for children, parents, carers and those working across the SEND system to provide feedback during the 13-week consultation period.
In the 2022/23 financial year, local authorities will have access to £54.1 billion core spending power (£3.7 billion more than this financial year and a 4.5% growth in real terms) to deliver their services, including for children and young people with SEND. As part of this, the government also boosted the social care grant, increasing it to over £2.3 billion.
United Learning consists of two charities, which are responsible for the operation of the Group’s schools. The Schools White Paper sets out the vision for a stronger and fairer school system that works for every child, encouraging the growth of the best school trusts as the collaborative structure best suited to supporting quality teaching. This will be delivered in close alignment with the findings of the SEND Review.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on cross-departmental approaches to ensuring that local authorities have adequate resources to minimise waiting times for assessments for children and young people with special educational needs.
Answered by Will Quince
The department closely monitors the timeliness of local authority assessments of education, health and care (EHC) plans. In the calendar year 2020, national special educational needs (SEN) 2 data showed that the proportion of plans completed within 20 weeks was 58% (in Kirklees it was 83.4%). The department recognises there is variation across local authorities in assessment and that delays may have an effect on the delivery of provision that is needed by children and young people. That is why local authorities can make provision and placements available during an assessment, rather than waiting for the final plan to be issued.
The department is committed to supporting and monitoring local authorities and their partners to improve special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services, including providing direct support and challenge to individual areas, and delivering regular training programmes on statutory EHC plan duties. Additionally, the department works with SEND and National Health Service England (NHSE) Advisers on improvement work with local areas where significant performance issues are identified in an Ofsted/Care Quality Commission (CQC) joint area SEND inspection. We are currently working with partners on a new area SEND inspection framework.
The SEND and Alternative Provision Green Paper was published on 29 March 2022. These set out a suite of proposed reforms that seek to create a coherent education, health and care system that works in the interests of all children in England and levels up opportunities. The department is providing opportunities for children, parents, carers and those working across the SEND system to provide feedback during the 13-week consultation period.
In the 2022/23 financial year, local authorities will have access to £54.1 billion core spending power (£3.7 billion more than this financial year and a 4.5% growth in real terms) to deliver their services, including for children and young people with SEND. As part of this, the government also boosted the social care grant, increasing it to over £2.3 billion.
United Learning consists of two charities, which are responsible for the operation of the Group’s schools. The Schools White Paper sets out the vision for a stronger and fairer school system that works for every child, encouraging the growth of the best school trusts as the collaborative structure best suited to supporting quality teaching. This will be delivered in close alignment with the findings of the SEND Review.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to empower local educational authorities and children’s services across England to help ensure minimal waiting times for assessments of children and young people with special educational needs.
Answered by Will Quince
The department closely monitors the timeliness of local authority assessments of education, health and care (EHC) plans. In the calendar year 2020, national special educational needs (SEN) 2 data showed that the proportion of plans completed within 20 weeks was 58% (in Kirklees it was 83.4%). The department recognises there is variation across local authorities in assessment and that delays may have an effect on the delivery of provision that is needed by children and young people. That is why local authorities can make provision and placements available during an assessment, rather than waiting for the final plan to be issued.
The department is committed to supporting and monitoring local authorities and their partners to improve special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services, including providing direct support and challenge to individual areas, and delivering regular training programmes on statutory EHC plan duties. Additionally, the department works with SEND and National Health Service England (NHSE) Advisers on improvement work with local areas where significant performance issues are identified in an Ofsted/Care Quality Commission (CQC) joint area SEND inspection. We are currently working with partners on a new area SEND inspection framework.
The SEND and Alternative Provision Green Paper was published on 29 March 2022. These set out a suite of proposed reforms that seek to create a coherent education, health and care system that works in the interests of all children in England and levels up opportunities. The department is providing opportunities for children, parents, carers and those working across the SEND system to provide feedback during the 13-week consultation period.
In the 2022/23 financial year, local authorities will have access to £54.1 billion core spending power (£3.7 billion more than this financial year and a 4.5% growth in real terms) to deliver their services, including for children and young people with SEND. As part of this, the government also boosted the social care grant, increasing it to over £2.3 billion.
United Learning consists of two charities, which are responsible for the operation of the Group’s schools. The Schools White Paper sets out the vision for a stronger and fairer school system that works for every child, encouraging the growth of the best school trusts as the collaborative structure best suited to supporting quality teaching. This will be delivered in close alignment with the findings of the SEND Review.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) adequacy of waiting times for special educational needs assessments and (b) potential effect of those waiting times on the education of affected young people.
Answered by Will Quince
The department closely monitors the timeliness of local authority assessments of education, health and care (EHC) plans. In the calendar year 2020, national special educational needs (SEN) 2 data showed that the proportion of plans completed within 20 weeks was 58% (in Kirklees it was 83.4%). The department recognises there is variation across local authorities in assessment and that delays may have an effect on the delivery of provision that is needed by children and young people. That is why local authorities can make provision and placements available during an assessment, rather than waiting for the final plan to be issued.
The department is committed to supporting and monitoring local authorities and their partners to improve special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services, including providing direct support and challenge to individual areas, and delivering regular training programmes on statutory EHC plan duties. Additionally, the department works with SEND and National Health Service England (NHSE) Advisers on improvement work with local areas where significant performance issues are identified in an Ofsted/Care Quality Commission (CQC) joint area SEND inspection. We are currently working with partners on a new area SEND inspection framework.
The SEND and Alternative Provision Green Paper was published on 29 March 2022. These set out a suite of proposed reforms that seek to create a coherent education, health and care system that works in the interests of all children in England and levels up opportunities. The department is providing opportunities for children, parents, carers and those working across the SEND system to provide feedback during the 13-week consultation period.
In the 2022/23 financial year, local authorities will have access to £54.1 billion core spending power (£3.7 billion more than this financial year and a 4.5% growth in real terms) to deliver their services, including for children and young people with SEND. As part of this, the government also boosted the social care grant, increasing it to over £2.3 billion.
United Learning consists of two charities, which are responsible for the operation of the Group’s schools. The Schools White Paper sets out the vision for a stronger and fairer school system that works for every child, encouraging the growth of the best school trusts as the collaborative structure best suited to supporting quality teaching. This will be delivered in close alignment with the findings of the SEND Review.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps is he taking to help ensure that children with autism receive timely assessments to determine their educational needs.
Answered by Will Quince
The government’s national strategy for improving the lives of autistic people and their families and carers, published in 2021, has been extended to children and young people, as well as adults, in recognition of the importance of ensuring that they are diagnosed and receive the right support as early as possible and across their lifetime. It is backed by funding of over £74 million in the first year alone to improve understanding in society, reduce diagnosis waiting times, and improve access to and the quality of health, social care, and education for autistic people.
On 1 February 2022, the department announced more than £45 million of continued targeted support for families and parents of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) over the next three financial years. These programmes will target support to improve monitoring, support and intervention for local authorities and local health and care partners’ delivery of statutory SEND services. They will improve participation and access for parents and young people for high quality advice and support and directly support schools and colleges to effectively work with pupils with SEND, for example through training on specific needs like autism.
The department recognises that the current SEND system, established through the Children and Families Act 2014, does not consistently deliver the services needed by children and young people and their families. The department has undertaken a comprehensive review of how the system has evolved since 2014 and how it can be made to work best for all families, ensuring quality of provision is the same across the country. The SEND review will be published in the form of a green paper that will be made available imminently.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking taken together with local authorities and other Government departments to increase the (a) quality and (b) pace of children’s special educational needs assessments across England.
Answered by Will Quince
The government is determined to level up opportunities for all children and young people without exception. The department is just as ambitious for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) as it is for every other child.
This week, the department published the SEND and alternative provision (AP) green paper, setting out proposals for a system that offers children and young people the opportunity to thrive, with access to the right support, in the right place and at the right time, so they can fulfil their potential and lead happy, healthy and productive adult lives.
The green paper includes proposals to establish a new national SEND and AP system that will set new standards for how needs are identified and met across education, health and care, including proposals to introduce a standardised and digitised education, health and care plan process, and a template to minimise bureaucracy and deliver consistency.
The new standards will mean that, in future, parents and carers can be confident that their child’s needs will be met effectively in the most appropriate local education provider, without having to fight to secure the appropriate support for their child’s needs. Parents will be clear about what support their child is receiving and they will be engaged in decision-making at every stage.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government's levelling up agenda includes improvements in provision for children with special educational needs.
Answered by Will Quince
The government is determined to level up opportunities for all children and young people without exception. The department is just as ambitious for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) as it is for every other child.
This week, the department published the SEND and alternative provision (AP) green paper, setting out proposals for a system that offers children and young people the opportunity to thrive, with access to the right support, in the right place and at the right time, so they can fulfil their potential and lead happy, healthy and productive adult lives.
The green paper includes proposals to establish a new national SEND and AP system that will set new standards for how needs are identified and met across education, health and care, including proposals to introduce a standardised and digitised education, health and care plan process, and a template to minimise bureaucracy and deliver consistency.
The new standards will mean that, in future, parents and carers can be confident that their child’s needs will be met effectively in the most appropriate local education provider, without having to fight to secure the appropriate support for their child’s needs. Parents will be clear about what support their child is receiving and they will be engaged in decision-making at every stage.