Children with SEND: Assessments and Support

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Monday 15th September 2025 Westminster Hall

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Ind)]

It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Dr Huq. I congratulate the petitioners on bringing forward this very important issue. I also want to thank the families in York I have consulted throughout the summer and over the 10 years I have been in this place; I have written a report to give to the Minister on the back of that.

The first key thing that I want the Minister to focus on is culture in our schools, which must change to a therapeutic and nurturing culture that is inclusive, with a focus on belonging. I urge the Minister and all hon. Members to take time to listen to Sir Ken Robinson, particularly his YouTube video, “How to escape education’s death valley”. In 20 minutes, we can learn so much about why culture has to change across our education system, because all our children are unique and need an environment in which every child can thrive. If we got the culture right, so many children would not need EHCPs, because they would have the supportive learning environment and health support that they need in order to thrive.

[Ms Julie Minns (Carlisle) (Lab)]

The hon. Member touches on an important point about culture, which is borne out by my own experience as the parent of a neurodivergent child whose secondary school education was made all the more traumatic by a profound lack of understanding and training among the teachers in the school. It was also borne out on Saturday when I held an event in my constituency: sadly, too many comments from parents were about the responses that they had received from staff in schools. Does the hon. Member agree that we absolutely must take the opportunity to get the culture right in our mainstream schools?

[Rachael Maskell]

I absolutely do, and I congratulate the hon. Member on all the work that she has done in this area. We certainly know, for instance, that emotionally based school avoidance often happens because the culture is wrong in the classroom. We need the right culture not only in the school, but in the community, because a child’s life continues through school vacations, into the summer and so on.

[Ian Lavery (Blyth and Ashington) (Lab)]

Some 122,000 people have signed the petition, many of them from my constituency of Blyth and Ashington. I have met the teachers, the educators, the authorities, the parents and the schools. The default position, rather than assisting and supporting the individuals involved and the families who are in most need, appears to be putting as many barriers in their way as practicably possible. Does my hon. Friend share those views? Is that something that she has recognised in her discussions?

[Rachael Maskell]

I really do congratulate my hon. Friend: I know how hard he works on behalf of children in his constituency, and they could have no better champion. His observations are absolutely right. Parents in particular face so many barriers and are often pushed away from the learning environment. When I went to Scandinavia to look at the education system around SEND there, they drew parents right into the heart of the school. Parents had co-produced the support that their children could have and ensured that they could get full support around their education.

[Manuela Perteghella (Stratford-on-Avon) (LD)]

Will the hon. Member give way?

[Rachael Maskell]

I will make a little progress, if I may.

In my constituency this month, we are establishing a SEND hub. It is very much like the concept of Sure Start but for children with SEND, so that throughout their journey—up to the age of 25, but with no fixed barrier at that age limit either—parents and young people can get the support that they need from multi-agency provision, whether that is around stay and play, expert health advice, support for parents, peer support or the advice that teachers and others in our communities can get to make sure that the provision for their children is absolutely the best.

When we look at culture, we have to look at the physical environments in which our children can learn to make sure that they are therapeutic, from colours and lights right through to the ways people can navigate school uniforms. Why do we dress our children in the way we do in this modern age? I urge the Government to look at the whole area of exams and assessments, which cause so many children, particularly those with SEND, so much stress and anxiety. I also want to raise the issue of transition. We need to do transition far, far better, because it is often at the point of transition between primary and secondary that children face the greatest anxiety.

Finally, I want to talk about the issue of governance. Risk, responsibility and accountability sit in the wrong place within our system. There needs to be a controlling mind. I urge the Minister to look at local authorities holding that controlling mind, because often the ask on local authorities is not under their control: ultimately, multi-academy trusts are making decisions that are pushing these children out of the education system, and local authorities are having to pick up the pieces. I believe that we can get this right, but we need local authorities to be really in control.

Will the Minister consider giving special educational needs co-ordinators roles similar to directors of public health in the way they relate to their local authorities, so that they have more power and authority to determine what happens within their educational environment?