Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase the number of places for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities in the London Borough of Havering.

The department is committed to ensuring that children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the support they need to realise their potential in all areas.

There are currently three special schools in Havering which provide SEND provision for the borough. Havering had its joint Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) SEND inspection between 26 February and 2 March 2018. The findings from the inspection, which were published in May 2018, found that the local area had been effective in implementing the SEND reforms as set out in the Children and Families Act 2014.

The local authority’s timeliness with completing Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans in 2022 was 95.1%, above the national average and the London average at 63.1%.

To ensure that children with SEND receive the support they need to realise their potential, the government will deliver up to 60 new special and alternative provision free schools as part of the £2.6 billion capital investment in high needs provision across the Spending Review period.

In June 2022, the department launched the latest special free school wave, where it invited local authorities to set out their case for why a new school would benefit their area.

Havering applied in the 2022 wave but was unsuccessful. We would encourage Havering to take on board the feedback received in relation to its recent application and to reapply when the opportunity arises.

The department’s Delivering Better Value in SEND programme aims to support local authorities and their partners to improve delivery of SEND services for children and young people whilst working towards financial sustainability. Havering is a participating local authority in this programme.