Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking improve the experience of parents and carers when using the Special Educational Needs and Disability system in Yeovil constituency.

A local area inspection of Somerset’s special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services, undertaken by Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) in March 2020, identified nine areas of significant weakness. They revisited in November 2022 and confirmed that seven had made sufficient progress. To address the remaining two areas, Somerset developed an accelerated progress plan, supported by the department and NHS England (NHSE) SEND Advisors. Progress was closely monitored and, by February 2025, the plan was stepped down following sufficient improvement.

The department and NHSE continue to engage with the Somerset SEND Partnership to discuss the local SEND system. Somerset Parent Carer Forum (PCF) representatives are valued strategic members at these meetings, which ensures their voices are heard, support to families continues, their issues are addressed, and true co-production takes place. We also engage with the regional and national PCF Networks to share information, escalate concerns and celebrate success.