Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 30 March (HL15056), why specialist places for pupils with special educational needs are not provided on the basis of specific distinct needs; and whether they will clarify the criteria used to decide whether specialist places are offered to pupils.

The specialist sector has a vital role to play in the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system, and the department values the contribution specialist places make for children and young people with complex needs. A fundamental principle of the SEND Code of Practice is that assessments are individual to the child or young person, and that special educational provision should be made based on presenting need. This does not rely on any specific diagnosis or categorisation of that need. Local authorities are under a statutory duty to ensure a sufficient supply of educational provision for children and young people with SEND, and placement decisions are reached as part of the assessment process in each individual case. Parents and young people have legal rights to express a preference for the setting they wish to be named in an education, health and care plan. Allocation of specialist placements is therefore based on the needs of the child or young person under assessment and is case-specific.