Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure SEN children have access to suitable educational provision.

We are investing £4 billion in special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reform programmes over the next three years to strengthen inclusive provision. This includes £1.6 billion to help expand readily available support in schools, early years settings, and colleges so that needs are met earlier and more effectively. This is in addition to £1.8 billion to increase access to specialist expertise, and over £200 million to train the education workforce. We will develop National Inclusion Standards that set out evidence-informed tools, strategies and approaches for educators to draw on to identify and support children and young people with additional needs.

We are also investing at least £3.7 billion in high needs capital between 2025/26 and 2029/30 to support local authorities to provide suitable places for children and young people with SEND, or those requiring alternative provision. Gloucestershire County Council was allocated just under £6.9 million and just over £9.4 million in 2025/26 and 2026/27, respectively. This funding can be used to improve SEND provision across the county, including in Tewkesbury, by expanding inclusion bases, improving accessibility in mainstream settings, or creating additional special school places for pupils with the most complex needs.