Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Supporting Children with SEND

Monday 2 March 2026 · 7 questions

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

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 6 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Secretary of State for Education has set out ambitious SEND reforms to ensure the system works better for families and children across England.
  • Accountability is a key part of the reforms, with Ofsted now focused on inclusion and conducting inspections for multi-academy trusts.
  • The Government is investing in a new national digital individual support plan and is putting 4 billion into schools and the services that support them to make individual support plans for every student a reality.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Yuan Yang Lab Earley and Woodley
Children & Families
Context

The effectiveness of the system for supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities is under scrutiny due to ongoing concerns from families, teachers, and professionals.

Question

What recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the system for supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities. Families, teachers, and professionals are concerned that the system has failed to meet children's needs and has a profound impact on their education and wellbeing.

Answer from Georgia Gould

The Secretary of State for Education has set out ambitious SEND reforms to ensure the system works better for families and children across England. Ofsted is now focused on inclusion and will conduct inspections for multi-academy trusts. The Government wants to hear from young people, parents, teachers, and all those who support them through a consultation.

Answered

Not addressed: null

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Q2 Yuan Yang Lab Earley and Woodley
Education
Context

Secondary school students with special educational needs face challenges with academy trusts that fail to prioritise inclusion properly.

Question

Secondary school students with special educational needs have told me of their struggles with academy trusts in south Reading and Shinfield that have failed to properly prioritise inclusion. Will the Minister set out how the schools White Paper will address that on the part of multi-academy trusts? Will she consider visiting Hartland high school and Oakbank school in my constituency to see the progress they have made on that front?

Answer from Georgia Gould

Accountability is a key part of the reforms, with Ofsted now focused on inclusion and conducting inspections for multi-academy trusts. The Minister is open to visiting local academies to see best practice and is committed to ensuring that resource and accountability are in place to ensure inclusion everywhere.

Answered

Not addressed: null

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Q3 Ian Roome Lib Dem North Devon
Children & Families
Context

Devon county council's SEND debts have been effectively written off, and there is a need to ensure that schools have the flexibility to support children with special educational needs across different parts of the country.

Question

I thank the Minister for the Government's decision to effectively write off about 90% of Devon county council's SEND debts. Will the Minister tell us how the new school curriculum will give schools the flexibility they need to support children with special educational needs across very different parts of the country, including rural areas such as North Devon?

Answer from Georgia Gould

The Government's curriculum and assessment review sets out a modern curriculum with a breadth of learning and enrichment for young people, but it is important to have the right adaptations and flexibilities to meet children's needs. The Government will ensure that the curriculum meets children's needs and provides the right support everywhere in the country.

Answered

Not addressed: null

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Q4 Perran Moon Lab Camborne and Redruth
Children & Families
Context

There are concerns about the off-rolling of children with special educational needs and disabilities in the Camborne, Redruth and Hayle constituency.

Question

As the Secretary of State knows, there is much concern in my Camborne, Redruth and Hayle constituency about the off-rolling of children with SEND. Will the Minister elaborate on the reforms in the schools White Paper to ensure that mainstream secondary multi-academy trust exclusions will be measured, and that schools will be incentivised to provide the effective SEND provision that all our children deserve?

Answer from Georgia Gould

Every school has to support children with special educational needs and disabilities. Every teacher has to be trained to be a SEND teacher, and every secondary school will be expected to have an inclusion base. The Department for Education will closely monitor pupil flow, including off-rolling, to ensure that no child falls through the cracks.

Answered

Not addressed: null

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Q5 Gagan Mohindra Con South West Hertfordshire
Education
Context

Schools face pressures due to spiralling costs and teacher shortages, and there are concerns about the additional responsibilities placed on schools to create individual support plans for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

Question

I spend a lot of time visiting schools in my constituency and speaking to the hard-working headteachers about the pressures they are under due to spiralling costs and teacher shortages. With the Government's proposed reforms placing an additional responsibility on schools to create individual support plans, alongside an ambition for more children's needs to be met within mainstream schools, how will the Minister ensure that schools do not have to make sacrifices that harm the education of every child?

Answer from Georgia Gould

The Government is investing in a new national digital individual support plan and is putting £4 billion into schools and the services that support them to make individual support plans for every student a reality. This will ensure that children are thriving and that every school has the necessary support.

Answered

Not addressed: null

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Q6 Laura Trott Con Sevenoaks
Children & Families
Context

The Secretary of State failed to answer a specific question about SEND funding during a statement, and the questioner seeks clarification on whether the £4 billion for SEND announced last week is actually from within the Department's existing spending review settlement.

Question

Last week, I asked the Secretary of State a specific question about SEND funding during her statement, which she failed to answer, so I will try again with the Minister today. The £4 billion for SEND announced last week, to be paid over three years, which the Secretary of State described as “new money”, is actually from within the Department's existing spending review settlement, isn't it?

Answer from Georgia Gould

Yes, the £4 billion for SEND is from within the Department's existing spending review settlement. It is a priority that the Government takes very seriously, and it has been managed to get new investment to support children with special educational needs and disabilities.

Answered

Not addressed: null

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Q7 Munira Wilson Lib Dem Twickenham
Children & Families
Context

Families with special educational needs feel that their voices are often ignored, leading to mistrust and sometimes tragic outcomes. There is concern that the government's proposals will weaken the tribunals' ability to direct specific provision in a child's best interest, potentially leading to endless disputes with local authorities.

Question

Trust among families with special educational needs is at rock bottom. Their voices have often been ignored—sometimes with tragic consequences—so while many are open to reform, there is real concern that under the Government's proposals tribunals will lose the ability to direct specific provision in a child's best interest, with the risk that families will be trapped in an endless doom loop of dispute with local authorities. If Ministers are serious about tackling that adversarial nature, will the Minister confirm how she will prevent it and protect children's and parents' rights?

Answer from Georgia Gould

We are committed to the tribunal being a backstop for families. We want a much more collaborative system, but we have heard from families how important that backstop of legal rights is, so the tribunal will be there as a backstop if parents are unhappy with the assessment process or the specialist provision package that they have. When it comes to school placement, hon. Members across the House will know that in many cases, places are being named at special schools that are already full and it is just not safe for them to take those children. Parents will still be able to go to the tribunal, which will be able to quash a decision if it is unhappy, and then the local authority will need to look at it again.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answerer did not provide specific details on how the adversarial nature will be prevented or how children's and parents' rights will be protected.

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