Our work on SEND reforms
The government wants to reform the SEND system. They published a SEND Green Paper in March 2022, setting out their proposals. Since then, we have engaged with parents, carers, professionals, and other organisations to understand the issues that matter to them.
Now, we are campaigning for a SEND system that does not cut corners and is built around the needs of the child.
Background to SEND reform:
In 2014, the Department for Education introduced significant changes to the way that children with SEND and their families access support. These changes were established in the Children and Families Act and the SEND Code of Practice. The system was designed to better consider the views, wishes and feelings of young people and their families. Broadly, it was based on these principles: participation, outcomes, joint commissioning, the introduction of Education, Health and Care plans (EHCP) and the extension of support until a young person reaches 25 years of age.
While reform was well intentioned, there are a number of problems which persist for children and their families. Currently, just over half (60%) of EHCPs are issued according to statutory timescales, which leaves children without the support they need for too long. There are also great inconsistencies in practice between areas, with one local authority assessing just 66% of the children put forward by families and professionals for an EHC assessment, and others assessing 95% of children identified as potentially having needed additional support (GOV UK data, 2022).
Between 2016 and 2020, Ofsted ‘routinely found local areas that were not properly implementing the requirements laid out in the code of practice and related legislation’. Weaknesses included:
- A lack of joint commissioning
- No co-production or co-production that was not working properly
- Poor quality EHCPs
- Poor outcomes for children and young people in mainstream schools (and receiving SEN support)
- Many local areas were not clear about who is – or should be – held accountable for services and provision
SEND Green Paper
In 2019, the government began to look at the SEND system with the view to future reform. It undertook a ‘SEND Review’, and published its findings in a report, ‘right support, right place, right time’ in March 2022.
Some of the government’s recommendations include:
- New national SEND standards
- Digital, standardised EHCPs
- A change to the way that schools are currently selected (to a tailored list)
- Mandatory mediation
- National funding bands and tariffs
You can read the government’s SEND Green Paper below:
Our consultation response
Between May and July 2022, we sought to better understand a range of views around the SEND Green Paper. We created a ‘Your say on SEND’ survey for parents and carers of children and received 90 responses in total. We ran a series of workshops with our workforce to gather their professional expertise on the proposals within the Green Paper, and a workshop for SEND professionals working in Cheshire East to understand their perspective. We also attended a series of workshops hosted by other organisations including Special Needs Jungle, Seashell, DCP.
We used the views gathered to respond to the government’s consultation. Broadly, we put forward 15 recommendations:
- It must be made clearer to families what rights and support they are entitled to
- Any SEND reform should be co-designed with children and families
- Changes must join up the system for children and families
- There must be mechanisms which ensure compliance with the law
- Parental choice must be retained
- Families should have access to an independent advocate
- Ofsted inspections must be more focused on SEND
- The Government must take steps to address delays in the system
- Family Hubs should include SEND support
- Supported internships should be more inclusive
- Post-16 support must be a priority
- National and local data should be used and improved
- Children’s needs should not be made to fit into funding bands
- A clear timeline for reform is needed
- Gaps in the Green Paper must be addressed, including physical disability, school-based avoidance, and diagnostic overshadowing
Our open letter
In September 2022 we sent a joint open letter to the Department for Education calling for future SEND reforms to be underpinned by six clear principles:
- Be co-designed with children and families
- Strengthen compliance with the law
- Ensure parental choice is retained
- Make post-16 support a priority
- Not squeeze children’s needs into funding bands
- Address existing gaps in the Green Paper
The open letter was signed by 32 leading disability organisations who together provide lifechanging support and services to thousands of children with special educational needs and disabilities every year.
Signatories to the open letter
- Mark Lee, Together Trust, Chief Executive
- Stephen Kingdom, Disabled Children's Partnership, Campaign Manager
- Parmi Dheensa, Include Me TOO, Executive Director
- Kate Steele, SHINE (Spina bifida • Hydrocephalus • Information • Networking • Equality), Chief Executive
- Sally Polanski, Amaze, CEO
- Sue Millman, Ataxia UK, CEO
- David Coe, AFK, CEO
- Caroline Stevens, National Autistic Society, CEO
- Michael McGrath, Muscle Help Foundation, Founder & CEO
- Louise Griew, Roald Dahl Marvellous Children's Charity, CEO
- Kathy Evans, Children England, CEO
- Jane Harris, I CAN, Chief Executive
- Sarah Pugh, Whizz-Kidz, Chief Executive Officer
- Claire Bryant, Cherry Trees, CEO
- Tom Madders, YoungMinds, Campaigns Director
- Rita Waters, NYAS (National Youth Advocacy Service), Group Chief Executive (England and Wales)
- Zillah Bingley, Rainbow Trust Children's Charity, Chief Executive
- Dr Rhidian Hughes, Voluntary Organisations Disability Group, Chief Executive
- Gill Gibb, Tree of Hope, CEO
- Helen Hewitt, Chailey Heritage Foundation, Chief Executive
- Assunta Soldovieri, Sebastian's Action Trust, Head of Family Services
- Katie Ghose, KIDS, Chief Executive
- Dr Beth Bodycote, Not Fine in School, Director
- Tania Tirraoro, Renata Blower, Special Needs Jungle Ltd, Co-Directors
- Mike Hobday, National Deaf Children's Society, Executive Director Policy and Campaigns
- Ali Gunn, United Response, Public Affairs and Policy Lead
- Megan Jarvie, Coram Family and Childcare, Head of Coram Family and Childcare
- Kevin Williams, The Fostering Network, Chief Executive
- James Taylor, Scope, Director of Strategy, Impact and Social Change
- Andy Fletcher, Together for Short Lives, Chief Executive
- Carolyne Willow, Article 39, Director
- National Star
What next?
The government is set to respond to feedback on the Green Paper consultation by the end of the year. We will continue to monitor legislative and policy developments and will use our voice to speak out if we believe that changes will not benefit children with SEND and their families.