Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of schools being directed to admit pupils with high levels of need without the provision of additional (a) funding and (b) support staff on (i) children’s safety and (ii) educational outcomes.

Local authorities must consult with settings before naming them in an education, health and care (EHC) plan. The setting can express concerns about being named and the local authority must consider these concerns carefully. However, if named in the plan, the setting is under a statutory duty to admit the child or young person.

Teachers have a key role to play in supporting learners with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and there are numerous development opportunities available to help ensure that a focus on SEND is embedded across schools.

All mainstream schools must also have a special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO), who plays an important role in helping the development and implementation of an effective special educational needs policy and provision in the school. The school should ensure that the SENCO has sufficient time and resources to carry out these functions.

Headteachers are responsible for employment in their schools, as they are best placed to understand the needs of their pupils and can make staffing decisions accordingly.

When an EHC plan is issued, the local authority is statutorily required to secure the provision specified in the plan. This usually involves providing top-up funding to the setting from its high needs budget. High needs budgets will total over £12 billion in the 2025/26 financial year, following the additional £1 billion announced at the Autumn Budget 2024.