SEC response to the Education Select Committee’s report on Solving the SEND Crisis

Report link: https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/49536/documents/264041/default/

SEC welcomes the Education Select Committee’s report, which recognises the urgency of the challenges facing the SEND system and its adverse effect on children and young people’s outcomes, as well as the strain that has been placed on parent carers and professionals. The Committee rightly acknowledges that the rise in Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) numbers is due to better identification of SEN and Disabilities, and a lack of adequate support at the universal and targeted level. This rise should not be addressed by eroding rights, and that accountability must be tightened to ensure at all levels of provision disabled children and young people, and those with SEN, receive the high-quality intervention they deserve and require.

The bedrock of addressing needs is early identification and a deep understanding of individual need, and we are pleased to see the Committee has acknowledged this. We further welcome the emphasis on the voice of children, young people, and parent carers in designing a reformed system. We are supportive of the call to maintain the role of Tribunals and expanding the jurisdiction of Local Government Social Care Ombudsman as ways to address the crisis of confidence currently evident. 

The report also speaks to other critical issues which require attending to, including the need for an updated and sustainable funding mechanism; ensuring health and education are all working in concert; the need for curriculum reform; addressing the needs of the workforce, including the specialist workforce and more. We see some important contributions also in respect of the Early Years sector, including the call to decouple Disability Living Allowance and SEN Inclusion Fund, and in the post-16 sector, a long overdue call to provide a dedicated funding stream for SEN support post-16. 

There are, of course, some gaps in this report, especially in relation to post-16 education, with little attention given to strengthening of employment pathways for disabled young people those with SEN and place planning for students with complex needs. We are concerned there is scant reference in the report to the place of social care in the SEND system, which is a key pillar to the government’s multi-agency strategy.

Crucially, the report provides a reminder that the UK is signatory to the UNCRPD and calls for a definition of inclusion which draws from its articles, importantly Article 24. The Committee rightly recognises there will need to be a culture change in order to successfully transition to a genuinely inclusive system. 

We urge the Government to follow the approach of this report when it publishes its anticipated White Paper. 

Responses from member organisations: