Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to help ensure that school pupils with SEND are receiving sufficient catch-up support to achieve their full potential following the covid-19 outbreak.

In total the department has announced almost £5 billion for an ambitious, multi-year education recovery plan to support young people to catch up on education lost.

The department has consistently prioritised children who attend specialist educational settings by providing additional uplifts both in the catch-up premium in the 2020/21 academic year and the recovery premium in the 2021/22 academic year, in recognition of the significantly higher per pupil costs they face. We are also providing £1 billion to extend the recovery premium funding for academic years 2022/23 and 2023/24. Alongside this, in Summer 2021, specialist educational settings were given an uplift to deliver summer schools, where they wanted to, at three times the normal rate.

The school-led tutoring element of the National Tutoring Programme (NTP) also gives schools flexibility, enabling them to select those tutors most suitable to support pupils with SEND. On 31 March 2022, the department announced that we will allocate all tutoring funding through the NTP directly to schools next year, which will give them the freedom and flexibility to develop a tutoring offer that works best for their pupils.

The 16-19 Tuition Fund also continues to support students with SEND as well as 19-24 year olds with an education, health and care (EHC) plan through the provision of one to one and small group tuition. To ensure 16 to 19 year old students with high needs, and those up to age 25 with an EHC plan can benefit, institutions have greater flexibility in how they deliver additional hours for these students.

The Schools White Paper published on 28 March 2022 sets out our vision for a school system that helps every child to fulfil their potential, including SEND pupils. The Parent Pledge included in the White Paper will be an essential part of this, promising that any child who falls behind in English or maths will receive the right evidence-based targeted support, appropriate to their needs, to help them get back on track.