Questions & Answers
Q1
Direct Answer
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Context
The questioner expresses concern about the adequacy of support for disabled children and their families in the SEND review.
What steps he is taking to ensure that the SEND review provides adequate support for disabled children and their families. The special educational needs and disabilities Green Paper aims to improve support delivery for all children with SEND, including those who are disabled. I am concerned about ensuring that this review genuinely addresses the needs of disabled children and their families.
The special educational needs and disabilities and alternative provision Green Paper aims to ensure that the right support is delivered in the right setting at the right time for all children and young people with SEND, including disabled children. To help achieve this, it proposes nationally consistent SEND standards be set across education, health and care.
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Assessment & feedback
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Q2
Partial Answer
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Context
The questioner mentions a virtual parliamentary event with the Disabled Children's Partnership where parent carers discussed their struggles to get the right school for their disabled child. The proposed policy under review may make this process harder.
At a virtual parliamentary event I hosted with the Disabled Children's Partnership a few weeks ago, I heard from parent carers who had to fight tooth and nail to get the right school for their disabled child, one that met their needs. That is why it is so concerning that in the SEND Green Paper the Government are proposing to stop carers being able to specify a school for their disabled child, making the process even harder. Can the Minister outline how families with a disabled child will still be able to get the right education under this proposed policy?
The specific point she raises, on the tailored list of settings for parents in our proposal, is absolutely not about reducing costs; it is designed to support parents and carers in making an informed choice about which setting they would like their child to go to. I would be very happy to set out the policy in further detail in a meeting with her.
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Assessment & feedback
No specific details provided on how families will get the right education under the proposed policy.
Will Provide More Detail In A Separate Meeting
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Q3
Partial Answer
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Context
The questioner references research by the Disabled Children's Partnership and consultations with constituents who feel that disabled young people should have legal rights to support and service providers must be held accountable for meeting their duties.
I commend research carried out by the Disabled Children's Partnership, whose findings are quite disturbing. It is essential that the SEND Green Paper that the Minister refers to improves accountability in the system. I have also consulted with my constituents in east Durham, who say that not only must disabled young people be able to get the support they need and have a legal right to it, but service providers must be held to account when they miss legal targets. What plans do the Government have to directly intervene when service providers do not meet their legal duties in respect of providing health, care and support to disabled young people in their care?
The hon. Gentleman is right that accountability has to be at the heart of our proposals, and everyone who provides support for children and young people with SEND has a responsibility to deliver it effectively. That is why we are creating new national standards, and creating local and national dashboards so that local authorities, organisations and those who provide SEND services can be held to account.
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Assessment & feedback
No specific details on plans for direct intervention when service providers do not meet legal duties.
Creating New Standards And Dashboards
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Q4
Direct Answer
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Context
The questioner expresses concern about capacity issues in special educational needs schools in his constituency, which are full and double-oversubscribed.
My hon. Friend the Minister knows my passion for looking after children and young people around the SEND sector. I welcome the Green Paper and the consultation, because this is a debate that we have needed to have for some considerable time. But the issue in Hertfordshire is going to be around capacity, because the special educational needs schools in my constituency, which are brilliant, are full and double-oversubscribed. This is not all about money—it is sometimes about how it is provided—but there are serious financial problems in Hertfordshire, and I wonder if he would look at that seriously for me.
My right hon. Friend has raised this issue with me on numerous occasions. He is a doughty champion for children with SEND and their parents and carers in his constituency. Of course I will look at this very closely. These are not just words: we are backing this up with £2.6 billion of capital funding to build about 33,000 or 34,000 SEND places across our country, including in Hertfordshire.
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Q5
Partial Answer
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Context
The questioner mentions a roundtable event on identifying children with dyslexia and invites the Minister to support his private Member's Bill aimed at ensuring early screening data collection.
I thank the Minister and the Minister for School Standards, who jointly hosted a roundtable on how we better identify children with dyslexia. Can I invite the Minister to support my private Member's Bill, which will have its Second Reading on 16 September, to make sure that we get the data from early screening so that we can identify children's and young people's needs and give them the help and support, and the knowledge that they have that support, to enable them to go on to thrive, flourish and make the most of their lives?
I thank my right hon. Friend for all his work in this area. It was a pleasure to join him at that roundtable. We want all children with SEND to get the right support in the right setting at the right time. At the heart of our reforms is early identification, early diagnosis and early support.
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Assessment & feedback
No commitment given to supporting the private Member's Bill.
Supporting Early Identification But Not Mentioning The Bill
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