Committee to press government on SEND commitments

The House of Commons education committee this week published the government’s response to its 18-month investigation into support for children with SEND which concluded that reforms brought in under the Children and Families Act 2014 had left schools and councils struggling and many families thrown into crisis.

The committee’s chair Robert Halfon, MP for Harlow, said it would be following up the government’s response with Education Secretary Gavin Williamson once parliament returned after the summer recess.

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After more than a six-month wait for the response, Halfon said it was being published “without delay” on behalf of hundreds of families, teachers and children that had contributed to the committee’s inquiry since it was launched in 2018.

“With more than 700 submissions from children, families and others, the committee’s examination of the SEND system in the last Parliament was one of the largest and widest-ranging inquiries ever undertaken by a select committee and highlighted how a generation of children and young people is being failed,” he said.

These families have been waiting months to hear how the government intends to “fix the flaws” that leave many young people missing out on the support they need, he added.

The committee's report, published in October 2019, outlined how measures introduced as part of the SEND reforms were poorly implemented.

This had resulted in serious consequences for many families including stress, depression, anxiety, job loss and suicide attempts, the report states.

In order to improve the situation for them, the committee said it wanted to see “a more rigorous inspection framework with clear consequences for failure” for councils.

There should also be a greater focus on SEND in school inspections, it added.

Halfon said that while he was pleased the government recognised the system had to improve, it was clear many of the provisions for those with SEND were not being delivered effectively.

“The legislation had good intentions but has just not worked in practice," he said. "Families continue to face a treacle of bureaucracy, a postcode lottery of provision, buck-passing and confusion in a system that breeds conflict.”

In its response, the government highlighted key actions it would take to drive up the quality of SEND support together with additional funding over three years of £14bn announced earlier this year.

It pledged to strengthen its approach, in partnership with NHS England, to findings arising from its Ofsted/Care Quality Commission (CQC) area inspection/revisit programme, particularly in areas required to produce a written statement of action.

“The programme of inspections and revisits is temporarily suspended due to the pandemic, but we continue to work with partners, including Ofsted and CQC to support local areas to work across agencies to deliver their SEND responsibilities,” the response states.

The government said it had worked with Ofsted to introduce a new approach to the inspection of schools and colleges introduced in September 2019.

“Ofsted’s new inspection framework requires inspectors to have a stronger focus on disadvantaged groups including those with SEND,” the response adds.

Further action would see an expansion of the government’s team of SEND advisers and regional case leads to respond more effectively where improvement was needed.

Work to improve the quality of local information, advice and support services for children with SEND and their families, including providing access to a national helpline and online service, was also being supported by nearly £28m funding pledged until 2021.