Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government intends to introduce accountability mechanisms in legislation to ensure that the National Inclusion Standards and updated SEND Code of Practice lead to improvements in outcomes for pupils with SEND in mainstream settings; and how the Department intends to monitor and evaluate compliance by schools and local authorities.

The department plans to introduce National Inclusion Standards, which we propose should set out minimum standards all settings must adhere to, including a range of evidence-based tools, strategies and approaches for educators to draw on to identify and support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

We are investing £1.6 billion in an Inclusive Mainstream Fund over three years, placing conditions on this funding to ensure it is used to support schools in moving towards practices that are inclusive by design. We will also place a duty on schools to produce an Inclusion Strategy, outlining what they will provide to remove barriers to learning. Ofsted will be able to draw on Inclusion Strategies to assess how leaders are delivering on inclusion and how staff are equipped to deliver it.

An updated SEND Code of Practice (subject to consultation and passage of legislation) will clarify responsibilities for education settings and local partners, with a stronger emphasis on evidence-based support and a whole setting approach to inclusion.

There will be a new remit for the Children’s Commissioner to oversee and scrutinise the implementation of SEND reforms. We are currently in the process of exploring and defining the options for this role.