Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what evidential basis her Department is using to promote internal SEND units for pupils with specialist needs in mainstream schools.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
This government is committed to encouraging schools and local authorities to set up resourced provision and special educational needs (SEN) units to increase capacity in mainstream schools.
The department has carried out wide stakeholder engagement and reviewed the existing evidence base, including academic literature, public datasets and third-party reports.
We know there are many great examples of mainstream schools delivering specialist provision through resourced provision and SEN units. They have an important role to play in a more inclusive mainstream system, enabling children to achieve and thrive in a mainstream school.
We are committed to building the evidence base. For example, the ‘What Works in SEND’ programme is undertaking a research project on SEN units and resourced provision, including a systematic review of existing UK and international literature and research into operational models in primary and secondary schools in England.
The department is also working with the Council for Disabled Children and the National Association for Special Educational Needs to develop guidance to help mainstream settings deliver high quality support for children accessing SEN units, resourced provision, and pupil support units.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the phonics screener for the early identification of dyslexia in primary schools.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Early identification of need and support is critical to improving outcomes for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including those with dyslexia.
There are several assessments in place to measure progress and help teachers to identify where pupils may require additional support with literacy. These include the phonics screening check, the end of key stage 1 non-statutory assessments and the key stage 2 statutory assessments. The phonics screening check helps teachers to identify pupils who may need extra help and enables schools to benchmark their pupils against national performance. This is not specifically designed to test for dyslexia.
The English Hubs programme is dedicated to improving the teaching of reading, with a focus on supporting children making the slowest progress in reading. Reading Ambition for All is a continuous professional development programme to support the lowest attaining children in reading, with a particular focus on those with SEND. This programme is delivered by 34 English hubs, reaching more than 600 schools, this academic year.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that proposals in the SEND White Paper do not reduce the rights of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities as set out in the Children and Families Act 2014.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Guildford to the answer of 20 January 2026 to Question 98569.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she had made of the potential implications for her policies of the British Dyslexia Association's report entitled Lost in the system: Councils’ blind spot on dyslexia, published on 3 February 2026.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
As reflected in the British Dyslexia Association’s report, the effective early identification and intervention is critical in improving the outcomes of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. In an inclusive education system, settings should be confident in accurately assessing children and young people’s learning and development and meeting any educational needs with evidence-based responses.
There are a number of national assessments already in place to measure progress and help teachers identify where pupils may require additional support with literacy, such as the phonics screening check, and end of key stage 2 assessments. A range of measures have also been introduced that aim to support the effective teaching of reading, including for those with special education needs and disabilities or those at risk of falling behind. This includes the English Hubs programme, the reading and writing frameworks, the Reading Ambition for All programme and the published list of department-validated high-quality phonics programmes for schools.
To further support settings to identify need early, we are strengthening the evidence base of what works to improve early identification in mainstream settings, including through collaboration with UK Research Innovation.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of local authorities' guidance on how to (a) assess or (b) identify (i) dyslexia or (ii) support literacy difficulties.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
As reflected in the British Dyslexia Association’s report, the effective early identification and intervention is critical in improving the outcomes of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. In an inclusive education system, settings should be confident in accurately assessing children and young people’s learning and development and meeting any educational needs with evidence-based responses.
There are a number of national assessments already in place to measure progress and help teachers identify where pupils may require additional support with literacy, such as the phonics screening check, and end of key stage 2 assessments. A range of measures have also been introduced that aim to support the effective teaching of reading, including for those with special education needs and disabilities or those at risk of falling behind. This includes the English Hubs programme, the reading and writing frameworks, the Reading Ambition for All programme and the published list of department-validated high-quality phonics programmes for schools.
To further support settings to identify need early, we are strengthening the evidence base of what works to improve early identification in mainstream settings, including through collaboration with UK Research Innovation.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to help support parents of students with SEND with having Education, Health and Care Plans in place.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department works closely with a range of charities, who support parents, carers, children and young people with education, health and care (EHC) plans currently in place.
We have extended our current participation and family support contract to guarantee continuity of vital support services for parent carers and children and young people throughout 2026/27. These services include a national helpline which gives independent advice, support and resources to parent carers, and also the training of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Information Advice and Support Services (SENDIASS) staff to ensure they are up to date with legal advice and information, and that they can support families locally. SENDIASS offer independent impartial information, advice and support on the full range of education, health and social care for parents, carers, children and young people with SEND. They also provide advocacy support for individual children, young people, and parents, which includes representation during a tribunal hearing if the parent or young person is unable to do so.
These services are designed to help families understand the impact of changes to the SEND system particularly in relation to EHC plans.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department are taking to help support children with visual impairments in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government is committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, ensuring teachers have the tools to better identify and support all children, as well as ensuring specialist special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and alternative provision schools cater to those with the most complex needs. Through training we aim to ensure that teachers at every level include a strong focus on inclusive education, and support the needs of all pupils, including those with visual impairments.
We are also strengthening the evidence base of what works to improve inclusive practice in mainstream settings.
Recently published evidence reviews from University College London will help to drive inclusive practices as they highlight what the best available evidence suggests are the most effective tools, strategies and approaches for teachers and other relevant staff in mainstream settings to identify and support children and young people with different types of needs.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with colleagues in the Department for Education regarding steps taken to increase awareness of the dangers of swimming in (a) cold water, (b) open water among school-age children.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues.
Swimming and water safety is a vital life skill. Swimming and water safety are compulsory elements of the PE National Curriculum at Key Stages 1 and 2. In addition, the changes made to the Government’s statutory RSHE guidance will ensure all pupils are taught about the water safety code, supporting them to be safe in different types of water.
This will help ensure all pupils are taught about the water safety code, supporting them to be safe in different types of water.
The Government is also providing a grant of up to £300,000 to deliver Inclusion 2028 – a programme which upskills teachers to deliver high quality, inclusive PE, including swimming and water safety, to pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the Disabled Children’s Partnership and the Speech, Language and Communication Alliance's 2025 report entitled How to spend less and get better outcomes for children with speech, language challenges.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department recognises that early identification and intervention is critical to improving outcomes for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. We are strengthening the evidence base of what works to improve early identification in mainstream settings. Recently published evidence reviews from University College London highlight the most effective tools and strategies to identify and support different types of needs. We recently announced new government-backed research which will aim to develop and test effective approaches to help early identification.
The department is also working with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England to improve access to community health services, including speech and language therapy.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to provide support for young people with EHCPs who stay in academic education after the age of 18.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Our forthcoming special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms will improve both access to and the quality of the support provided to enable children and young people with SEND to achieve and thrive at all stages of statutory education. It is already the case that those young people with education, health and care plans (EHCPs) who need more time to complete their learning can retain their EHCP and, where necessary, remain in statutory education until age 25. The EHCP will continue to be reviewed regularly and will set out the support and provision the young person needs to achieve and thrive.
Disabled learners who go on to study in higher education will receive individual reasonable adjustments made by their university or other higher education provider under the Equality Act 2010 and can access Disabled Students’ Allowance for more specialist support.