Special Educational Needs

(asked on 20th October 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the number of children with special educational needs and disabilities who are absent from school, and (2) the extent to which the lack of sufficient support and staffing necessary for those children to return safety is a factor in their absence.


Answered by
Baroness Berridge Portrait
Baroness Berridge
This question was answered on 2nd November 2020

It is vital that all children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) return to their educational setting so that they can receive high quality teaching and specialist professional care.

Approximately 84% of all pupils with an education, health and care plan on roll in all state-funded schools were in attendance on 15 October 2020.

For the majority of children, the benefits of being back in the classroom far outweigh the low risk from COVID-19 and schools can take action to reduce risks still further.

Opening our schools to everyone is a critical part of returning to the ‘new normal’ but we do not underestimate the challenge that this represents. We also know that special education settings may face greater challenges. We are continuing to work closely with the sector to identify issues as they arise and put appropriate measures in place as we update our guidance and support offerings.

Staff working day in, day out with children and young people with SEND and their families are best placed to understand individual needs and the adjustments that may need to be made. This knowledge and expertise underpins the guidance for special schools and other specialist settings. The guidance provides a framework, approved by Public Health England, setting out the high-level actions that all schools must undertake for full return. In planning for full return, coproduction and consultation with families is crucial.

The specialisation and the peripatetic nature of much staffing in special settings may make the flexible deployment of staff more challenging, for example in cases where only one member of staff is trained in a particular intervention. Settings and local authorities may wish to have discussions about ways to increase resilience in these circumstances, such as whether additional staff can be trained or if two settings could work together to ensure cover.

While many parents have sent their children to school, we recognise that there are some parents who will still have concerns. In these cases, we recommend schools discuss their concerns and provide reassurance of the measures they are putting in place to reduce the risk in school.

We are committed to improving local SEND services, and have started a programme of visits by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission working with local areas to understand the experiences of children and young people with SEND and their families during the COVID-19 outbreak, and to support local areas to prioritise and meet their needs.

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