Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the portability of (a) special and (b) additional needs, and (c) disability provision for children in Armed Forces families.

As part of the consultation on the government’s special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms, I recently attended a roundtable hosted by the Armed Forces Community All-Party Parliamentary Group. I met representatives from armed forces families and the charities that support them to hear first-hand about the problems they face. Children and young people from armed forces families might have to change nursery, school or college when their parents are redeployed. They can experience delays in identifying their needs, and inconsistent services and support between local authorities.

To address the problems caused by delays, the department’s special educational needs and disabilities reforms will improve early identification of children’s needs so that provision can be put in place more quickly. We will invest in new training for all staff and increase the number of specialists. Education health and care plans and new Individual Support Plans will be digital, which will support services children by facilitating smoother transitions when they move between schools or local authorities.

In future, services children should receive more consistent services when they move. National Inclusion Standards will set out, for the first time, support that should be available in every mainstream setting. A nationally consistent set of Specialist Provision Packages will provide comprehensive, evidence-based packages of support for children and young people with the most complex needs.

Education is a devolved matter and the reforms will apply to England only.