Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to help ensure that whether a school provides SEND education is taken into account in her Department's assessment of that school's attainment data.

When making decisions about the creation, consolidation and growth of academy trusts, the Regions Group team within the Department will always consider the needs of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), both in decisions about mainstream schools and in decisions about special schools or alternative provision (AP) schools.

Pupils with SEND are included in school performance data because schools are accountable for the outcomes of all of their pupils, in line with the overarching principle of fair inclusion for all pupils, whatever their background or characteristics.

Information about a school’s cohort is shown in performance tables, alongside its progress and attainment data. This includes information about the proportion of pupils in a school with an Education, Health and Care Plan and those with SEN support, compared to national averages. The school performance tables service also indicates when a mainstream school has a SEN unit or resourced provision.