Have you told the government what you think about the SEND review green paper yet?

3 mins read

Thursday 26 May 2022

Tags: SEND review, SEND REview consultation

We’ve taken a closer look at the SEND Review Green Paper – a discussion document which sets out the government’s plans to improve the SEND system in England. Over the next few weeks we’ll highlight some of the key proposals in the Green Paper to help you tell the government what you think about them so they can make changes.

How to respond

The government has now opened a public consultation on the proposals set out in the green paper. You have until the 22 July to have your say by responding to the consultation. Although there are 22 questions in the SEND Review green paper consultation, you can respond to as many or as few of these as you like – so don’t worry if you can’t complete all 22 questions.

Question 1 looks at the government’s proposal to create a new set of national standards for SEND provision

The main government proposals for change are set out in Chapter 2 of the SEND Review green paper.

One of the main government proposals in the green paper (chapter 2 paragraphs 4-6) page 27) is about creating a new set of national standards for SEND provision spanning early years settings through to further education and covering education, health and care. The standards will include how to identify and assess children’s needs, what sort of provision should be available in each area for different types of need, and how children with SEND should access support in mainstream schools.

The government believes creating new national standards for SEND provision would give greater consistency in how needs are identified and supported because at the moment, the lack of clarity about what is supposed to be happening for children and young people with SEND, leaves local authorities and education settings with too much freedom to make their own decisions. This means that people’s experiences can be very different depending on where they live.

Question 1 in the government’s consultation asks what you think about its proposal to create a new set of national standards for SEND provision. You might want think about:

  • What you think should be included in a new set of national standards for SEND provision?
  • In your experience what do you think is stopping local authorities and education settings from implementing the current SEND system? What needs to be included in a new set of national standards for SEND provision to make sure new national standards are adhered to?
  • What should be included in a set of national standards to make sure local authorities and school settings comply with a set of new national standards?
  • Do you think implementing national standards might make the system less child-centred – why/ why not?

Read more about the SEND Green Paper Review on our webpage.

An alternative way for you to respond

The National Network of Parent Carer Forums (NNPCF) have launched a parent carer survey on the SEND and Alternative Provision Green Paper consultation. They are encouraging responses from as many parent carers as possible to make sure that their views and voices are heard.

You can complete the survey using this link: www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/J63QX22. It should take between 10-15 minutes to complete and is open until 30 June. The responses from the survey will be used to inform the NNPCF’s response to the SEND and AP Green Paper consultation.