Labour launches review of SEN provision

The review will examine a number of areas, including the impact of the government’s desire for all schools to become academies on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) admissions and provision, and the transition from the previous system of SEN statements to the new system of education, health and care plans (EHCP).

It will also look at the variability in the "local offer" available in different areas, the SEN code of practice; provision of SEND in initial teacher training, and the provision of specialist services within schools.

Labour said that figures published in response to a parliamentary question show that 78 per cent of children in alternative provision have an SEN statement or an EHCP. Meanwhile, more than 33,000 children with SEND are on fixed-term exclusions from schools.

Sharon Hodgson MP, Labour’s shadow children's minister, said: “The government promised that reforms set out in the Children and Families Act during the last parliament would transform the experience of children with SEND and their families.

“Yet two years later, we are seeing significant numbers of these children excluded from school and many of their parents experiencing significant difficulties in accessing support.
 
“With their recent schools white paper failing to announce any new meaningful reforms to SEND provision, Tory ministers seem content with the status quo.

“This simply isn’t good enough: far more needs to be done to improve the attainment, outcomes and experiences of children with SEND, so that we can ensure all children and young people have a fair chance of making a fulfilling transition to adulthood.”
 
Hodgson said the review will aim to identify why so many children with SEND are being excluded from school and what the next steps should be for SEND provision and services in England.

Two roundtable sessions will be held this month, and a call for written evidence will run until the summer.

A report will be published in the autumn, which will feed into the Labour Party’s National Policy Forum, informing policy development for the party’s manifesto for 2020.