Tell the government what you think about its SEND Review proposals for England

4 mins read

Tuesday 29 March 2022

Tags: england, SEND review, SEND Green Paper

Today the government has published its special educational needs and disability (SEND) review as a Green Paper – a discussion document which sets out proposals for a system that offers children and young people in England access to the right support, in the right place, and at the right time, so that they can fulfil their potential and lead happy, healthy and productive adult lives.

The government’s proposals are now open for public consultation and feedback. The consultation period is 13 weeks long and ends on Friday 1 July.

Over the next few days we’ll be taking a detailed look at the SEND review Green Paper and its implications for families making it easier for you to respond. You can also read a summary of the proposals here.

Why is the SEND Green Paper being published now?

A government review of the SEND system in England was announced in 2019 – five years after SEND reforms were introduced in 2014 with the aim of improving the services available to families needing support, equipping staff in schools and colleges to respond effectively to their needs as well as ending the postcode lottery of services they often face.

The Green Paper and consultation launched today is an opportunity for parent carers to tell the government how the SEND reforms introduced in 2014 have been implemented, and what impact they are having in meeting the challenges faced by the families.

The publication of the SEND Green Paper follows the publication yesterday of the Schools White Paper.

Some key proposals included in the Green Paper include:

  • Setting new national standards across education, health and care to build on the foundations created through the Children and Families Act 2014, for a higher performing SEND system
  • A simplified Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) through digitising plans to make them more flexible, reducing bureaucracy and supporting parents to make informed choices via a list of appropriate placements tailored to their child’s needs, meaning less time spent researching the right school
  • A new legal requirement for councils to introduce ‘local inclusion plans’ that bring together early years, schools and post-16 education with health and care services, giving system partners more certainty on who is responsible and when
  • A new national framework for councils for banding and tariffs of High Needs, to match the national standards and offer clarity on the level of support expected, and put the system on a financially sustainable footing in the future
  • Changing the culture and practice in mainstream education to be more inclusive and better at identifying and supporting needs, including through earlier intervention and improved targeted support.

How to make your views known

Children, young people and their families as well as those that support them across the SEND system are encouraged to respond to the consultation which ends on Friday 1 July 2022.

Read the summary of the SEND Green Paper and submit your response to the consultation via this GOV.UK webpage.

For further information and support to help you respond to the consultation, visit sendreview.campaign.gov.uk which includes an animation about the SEND Green Paper.

Reactions from the SEND sector

Commenting on the SEND Green Paper, the Disabled Children’s Partnership said: “We welcome the government’s stated intentions in the Green Paper to improve the support provided to children and young people with SEND and to end the postcode lottery.

“However, we are concerned that the proposals for lists of ‘appropriate placements’ may constrain parental choice; and that the proposals for national tariffs and banding will not have the flexibility to meet individual children’s needs, and could be used to ration support.  We will be looking at the proposals in more detail; and we will be encouraging parents and disabled young people to respond to the consultation, and helping provide a platform for their views.”

The National Network of Parent Carer Forums also commented, saying: “The SEND Green Paper has been a long time in coming. We welcome its publication and are pleased that the challenges faced by families, the problems in the current system and the underlying causes are so clearly recognised. This represents an opportunity to reset the SEND system and improve the opportunities and outcomes for children and young people with SEND.

“We encourage all parent carers to engage in the consultation processes – it is vital that the voice of families continues to be heard if we are going to make the changes we need to see.”