Children with SEND: Assessments and Support

Paul Davies Excerpts

Monday 15th September 2025 Westminster Hall

[Paul Davies (Colne Valley) (Lab)]

Special educational needs and disabilities are not a niche issue. It is a matter of justice, opportunity and inclusion. For too long, families have had to fight for the support their children deserve. The system has been adversarial, slow and inconsistent—this must change.

I am pleased that we are seeing the seeds of change across my constituency. Schools such as St John’s Church of England voluntary aided junior and infant school, Upperthong junior and infant school and Wellhouse junior and infant school are participating in the partnerships for inclusion of neurodiversity in schools programme. This initiative is training teachers to better understand and support neurodiverse children, fostering inclusive classrooms in which every child feels seen and supported.

The Government are providing additional funds. Kirklees council has received more than £6.1 million in capital funding for high-needs provision in 2025-26, but funding alone is not enough. We need a system built on collaboration between schools, families, healthcare professionals and local authorities. We need early intervention, not late reaction. We need to move from a model in which parents fight for support to one in which support wraps around the child from the start.

[James Naish]

My hon. Friend has referenced training. One of the biggest single asks from my constituents in Rushcliffe is for autism-specific training for school staff, yet most teachers report that very little specialist training takes place. Does he agree that there ought to be a standardised national professional development framework for teachers and support staff to make sure that this is embedded?

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[Paul Davies]

You put it very eloquently. I absolutely agree with you, and that is crucial within the teaching profession. I am sure it would have 100% support from the professional bodies.

It is good to see the Government engaging directly with families, educators and experts ahead of the schools White Paper this autumn. That will help to ensure that we shape reforms that deliver better and more relevant outcomes for families and children.

In Kirklees, we are making real strides in supporting children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. The mainstream school clusters are fostering collaboration and early intervention, and as many people have mentioned, early intervention is crucial. Those developments not only reflect the council’s commitment to inclusive education, but will also reduce reliance on costly independent placements, ensuring that every child in Kirklees has the opportunity to thrive. So let us keep pushing this forward. Let us ensure that every child in Kirklees and across the country has the chance to succeed—

[Jamie Stone]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Paul Davies]

I am just about to finish, but go on.

[Jamie Stone]

I intervene on a Welshman as a Scotsman. We have the same problems in Scotland. You only have to look at the map of the constituencies in Scotland. Would the hon. Member agree that whatever way forward the Government establish, it would be best for it to be shared with the Scottish Government?

[Paul Davies]

I absolutely agree. This cannot be one part of the UK, one region or one city; it has to be across the UK. We have to see every child have that opportunity. I completely agree with you.

This is about us working together. It is about collaboration. It is very much about how, together, we can build a system that works for everyone.

[Dr Rupa Huq (in the Chair)]

Order. The word “you” keeps creeping in. A lot of people have said it during this debate, but “you” means me, and I certainly have not done any of those things. Can we refer to each other as hon. Members or hon. Friends? The next speaker, who will be exemplary in this, is Greg Stafford.