Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, in the context of the SEND Review, whether parents will be able to seek a setting not specified on a local inclusion plan if they consider the specified settings were not suitable for their child.

The SEND Green Paper sets out proposals to establish a single national SEND and alternative provision system with national standards for provision, processes and systems delivered locally through local inclusion plans. The local inclusion plan will then set out how each area will meet the national standards.

In order to support parents and carers to express an informed preference for a suitable placement, they will be provided with a tailored list of settings based on the local inclusion plan, including mainstream, specialist and independent, that are appropriate to meet the child or young person’s needs.

In the rare instances where there are disagreements, our proposals seek to try and resolve issues earlier, including through mandatory mediation, to reduce the need for cases to escalate to the tribunal.