Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that children and young people with SEND are to participate in out of school activities.

The department recognises the benefits that participating in out-of-school activities can have for children’s wellbeing, education, and social development, including for children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND).

The department has published guidance on wraparound and holiday childcare which makes clear that schools should ensure that wraparound or holiday childcare providers consider the needs of children with SEND when planning their activities to prevent discrimination, promote equality of opportunity and foster positive relations. This guidance is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/778997/Rights_to_request_guidance-2019.pdf.

All parents have the right to request that the school their child attends provides wraparound childcare, and schools should not refuse such a request without a reasonable justification.

To further support children to attend out-of-school activities safely, the department has published guidance for out-of-school providers on keeping children safe in out-of-school settings, which includes advice on the safeguarding arrangements they should put in place for children and young people with SEND, and published accompanying guidance for parents to support them to choose a safe setting for their child. Guidance on keeping children safe in out of school settings can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-out-of-school-settings-code-of-practice. The guidance for parents can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-for-parents-and-carers-on-safeguarding-children-in-out-of-school-settings.

Short breaks are a key part of a range of provision that supports disabled children and their families and are highly valued by these families as an essential part of helping them to lead ordinary lives. In 2022, we launched the Short Breaks Innovation Fund, a three-year £30 million fund to test novel approaches to integrated delivery of short breaks and support services for children and young people (CYP) with SEND. We have funded seven areas in year one of the programme and expect to announce the successful areas for year two shortly.