Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

SEND Improvement Plans: Multi-academy Trusts

Monday 22 June 2026 · 3 questions

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

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Department is ensuring multi-academy trusts play a key role in special educational needs and disabilities reforms through national consultation and reform plans.
  • National inclusion standards will be set for all schools, including multi-academy trusts, by an independent expert panel.
  • The Government is investing 1.8 billion in the new Experts at Hand service to make educational psychologists, occupational therapists, and speech and language therapists more accessible.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Clive Jones Lib Dem Wokingham
Children & Families
Context

The question arises from concerns about local authority cooperation with multi-academy trusts in delivering SEND plans. There is a need for clear levers to ensure accountability.

Question

What assessment has the Department made of the potential impact of planned SEND reforms on the ability of local authorities to effectively co-operate with multi-academy trusts on the delivery of local area SEND improvement plans?

Answer from Georgia Gould

Through the national consultation and local special educational needs and disabilities reform plans, we are ensuring that multi-academy trusts play a key role in SEND reforms. New national inclusion standards will create shared expectations for all schools around inclusive education, and the SEND reforms make clear our expectations that all multi-academy trusts and schools work in partnership with local authorities to ensure the needs of every child in an area are met.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask about the impact assessment was not addressed directly.

How: National Consultation, Local Reform Plans

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Q2 Clive Jones Lib Dem Wokingham
Children & Families
Context

There is concern about clear levers for accountability in the delivery of SEND plans. The Department's response to the first question did not address these concerns fully.

Question

Without clear levers, accountability cannot be guaranteed and the Department cannot ensure that SEND reforms translate into consistent, high-quality support for children and their families on the ground. Will the Minister clarify what specific and enforceable powers local authorities will have to ensure that multi-academy trusts play their full part in delivering local area SEND plans?

Answer from Georgia Gould

The Government will be setting national standards for all schools, including multi-academy trusts. National inclusion standards will be developed by an independent expert panel and all schools will need to ensure they are delivered. We are also introducing new inspections for multi-academy trusts that will focus on a range of levers, including the importance of inclusion in education.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific ask about enforceable powers was not directly addressed.

How: National Standards, Independent Expert Panel

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Q3 Ruth Cadbury Lab Brentford and Isleworth
Education Children & Families
Context

Special needs specialists in schools have raised concerns about the shortage of educational psychologists, and a constituent's child has additional needs requiring occupational therapy.

Question

Special needs specialists in my constituency have raised their concerns about the shortage of educational psychologists. A mum of a profoundly disabled child I met on Saturday also raised concerns about the shortage of occupational therapists. What are the Government doing to address the specific needs of that group?

Answer from Georgia Gould

We are investing £1.8 billion in the new Experts at Hand service, which will start from September, making educational psychologists, occupational therapists and speech and language therapists far more accessible for students in mainstream education. We are also investing £40 million into training new educational psychologists and speech and language therapists to develop the workforce.

Answered
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