Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support the additional needs of children with special educational needs in the recovery from the covid-19 outbreak.

Since June 2020, we have announced more than £3 billion to support education recovery in schools which includes support for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), 16-19 providers and in early years settings to help pupils make up education lost as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. Our recovery programmes have the flexibility to support those pupils most in need, including children with SEND, with additional funding provided for those interventions that the evidence tells us will have a significant impact, high quality tutoring and great teaching.

We have consistently prioritised children who attend specialist settings by providing additional uplifts both in the 2020 Catch-up Premium and in the 2021 Recovery Premium and providing the flexibility to deliver provision based on pupils’ need. Additionally, specialist settings received an uplift to deliver the summer schools programme.

We have also ensured that settings have the flexibility to target this to meet the needs of their pupils and students. In addition, we continue to work hard to ensure children and young people are given access to therapies and equipment so that the right support is in place for all children and families, including addressing the backlog in assessments, we are providing over £42 million in 2021-22 to continue funding projects to support children with SEND. This investment will ensure that specialist organisations around the country can continue to help strengthen local area performance, support families, and provide practical support to schools and colleges. This includes £27.3 million to the Family Fund in 2021-22 to support over 60,000 families on low incomes raising children and young people with disabilities or serious illnesses.