Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Support for Children with SEND

Monday 29 January 2024 · 11 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 11 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Government plans to increase the number of special educational needs schools and places.
  • High-needs budget has increased by over 60% to 10.5 billion in 2024-25.
  • Training for teachers in special educational needs and disabilities will be improved through reforms and additional recruitment.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Dan Carden Lab Liverpool Walton
Education Children & Families
Context

The MP is concerned about the support available for children with special educational needs in his constituency.

Question

I am concerned about the steps being taken to improve support for children with special educational needs and disabilities. What are you doing to ensure they receive adequate assistance?

Answer from Gillian Keegan

There is nothing more important than ensuring that everyone in our country, regardless of need, gets the very best education possible. Our special educational needs and alternative provision improvement plan will ensure that all children get the support they need to reach their potential. We have opened 108 special free schools, including 15 since September, and launched a £70 million change programme to test and refine our systemic reforms, benefiting every region in England.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific measures requested were not fully detailed.

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Q2 Liz Twist Lab Blaydon and Consett
Education Children & Families
Context

The MP references parents struggling to access appropriate support for their children with special educational needs.

Question

Today, many parents of children with special educational needs are at their wits' end. They either fight for an education, health and care plan or struggle to access the right support when they get one. Does the Secretary of State agree that this system is broken?

Answer from Gillian Keegan

I would agree that there has been an absolute increase in special educational needs in the past five, six or seven years, largely because we know more, but also because covid has added some pressure on the system. We have expanded the system and want to ensure that all children with special educational needs get the help they need. We have an improvement plan in place which was published in March 2023.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific discussions about funding were not detailed.

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Q3 Ashley Dalton Lab West Lancashire
Agriculture & Rural Affairs Children & Families
Context

The MP is concerned about children with special educational needs having to travel long distances or go without support.

Question

In smaller and rural communities, populations and services are often very sparsely distributed. What is the Government's plan to address that issue?

Answer from Gillian Keegan

We have been trying to increase the number of places within both mainstream and special educational needs and alternative provision settings. We have 108 more special educational needs schools already built and 76 more approved. We have worked with many local authorities, including in rural areas, to make sure they get the provision they need.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific actions for rural areas were not detailed.

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Q4 Rachel Hopkins Lab Luton South and South Bedfordshire
Children & Families Local Government
Context

The MP is concerned about the resources available to schools and councils to meet increasing demand.

Question

What discussions is the Secretary of State having with the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on funding and powers available to councils to improve SEND provision?

Answer from Gillian Keegan

The high-needs budget is up by over 60% in the past four years, reaching £10.5 billion in 2024-25. We support local authorities with financial deficits through the safety valve and delivering better-value programmes.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific discussions were not detailed.

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Q5 Debbie Abrahams Lab Oldham East and Saddleworth
Education Children & Families
Context

The MP is concerned about the long wait times for assessments and support plans.

Question

Children with special educational needs can wait months or years not just for assessment but for a plan to address their needs. What are the Government doing about that?

Answer from Gillian Keegan

Our plan to introduce national consistency and standards will be published in 2025. We will deliver it through local partnerships, digitise records for transparency, improve early language support, work with integrated care boards to support neurodiversity in schools.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific actions were not detailed.

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Q6 Dan Carden Lab Liverpool Walton
Children & Families
Context

The MP is concerned about the early identification and support for children with special educational needs.

Question

Children from the most deprived areas are less likely to be identified compared with similar children from more affluent areas. What measures are being taken to ensure that children in constituencies such as mine are identified early?

Answer from Gillian Keegan

Early identification is key, and we have many schemes to ensure local authorities have financing to improve the number of places in mainstream schools and special educational needs schools.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific measures were not detailed.

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Q7 Priti Patel Con Witham
Children & Families
Context

The MP is concerned about children with special educational needs being placed out of their own counties and localities.

Question

What work is being done to support local authorities in addressing the placing of children with special educational needs and disabilities out of their own counties? In Essex, this affects all our colleagues.

Answer from Gillian Keegan

We have put £2.6 billion into increasing the number of places and launched a £70 million change programme to ensure the improvement plan goes from paper to implementation on the ground.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific actions were not detailed.

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Q8 Ranil Jayawardena Con
Education Children & Families
Context

Training in SEND during initial teacher training to ensure teachers are aware of support needs for children with special educational needs.

Question

Will my right hon. Friend update the House on the provision of training in SEND during initial teacher training to ensure that more teachers are aware of the support that children might need, and on the recruitment of specialists, such as educational psychologists and speech and language therapists?

Answer from Gillian Keegan

We are implementing high-quality teacher training reforms. A review of initial teacher training core content framework and early career framework will identify how to equip new teachers with skills. There will be more investment, including another 400 educational psychologists and 7,000 SENCOs.

Partly answered

How: Under Review, Working With Providers

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Q9 Will Quince Con
Education
Context

Ensuring all teachers have the knowledge, skills, and training to support children with SEND.

Question

To create a truly inclusive school environment, what steps is my right hon. Friend taking to ensure that initial teacher training gives teachers the necessary support and training for special educational needs and disabilities?

Answer from Gillian Keegan

There is a golden thread of high-quality teacher training reforms, including revised framework working with providers. The additional 7,000 SENCOs will be trained in the coming years.

Partly answered

How: Under Review

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Q10 Harriett Baldwin Con West Worcestershire
Education Taxation
Context

Concern about the potential impact of a proposed tax on independent schools, particularly those providing specialist support for children with autism.

Question

Is it the Secretary of State's understanding that such independent provision would be affected by taxation should the Opposition bring in a tax on independent schools across this country?

Answer from Gillian Keegan

There are 2,408 independent schools providing support for children with special educational needs. Increased taxation would make provision more difficult.

Partly answered

How: Assessing The Impact

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Q11 Duncan Baker
Education
Context

The questioner's ten-minute rule Bill aims to increase and ensure there is autism training for all teachers.

Question

Will the Secretary of State back my hon. Friend's Bill that aims to increase and ensure there is autism training for all teachers?

Answer from Gillian Keegan

Initial teacher training must equip trainees with understanding of pupils' needs, including those with autism. A new standard on autism is being developed through an improvement plan.

Partly answered

How: Working With Frontline Professionals

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