The Education Policy Institute has submitted its response to the government’s consultation on ‘SEND reform: putting children and young people first’. EPI’s response draws on our own research in this area, as well as the wider evidence base and our knowledge of the early years, primary, secondary, post 16 and specialist education sectors.
EPI welcomes many of the proposals in this consultation. There are, however, some areas in which the proposals do not appear to correlate with the available evidence – particularly:
- We believe that greater attention is required to the contribution of national policy towards the current trends in SEND identification. Attention should be focused on meeting needs by making expected outcomes more flexible and holistic, and through commitment to a transparent plan to increase the capacity of children’s workforces.
- Our research supports the aims of Experts at Hand and the refreshing of Areas of Development, but indicates areas where the implementation of these can be strengthened.
- Research suggests that there are weaknesses in the planning of Inclusion Bases, and that a fundamental rethink of the Specialist Provision Packages is urgently required.
EPI’s response addresses the following consultation questions:
- How can we make sure that high-quality evidence and best practice inform decisions about SEND?
- How do you think early years settings, schools, and colleges can best support the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people?
- Do you agree that the refreshed ‘areas of development’ will support educators to understand and address barriers to learning and participation?
- What should the top three priority areas be for building and sharing evidence within the National Inclusion Standards?
- How can we ensure Individual Support Plans are clear, concise and practical for professionals to use?
- How can we best support transition for young people with SEND, so that they are well supported into post-16 provision and further education, training or employment?
- How can we make sure that every area can meet the full range of the needs of children and young people through Inclusion Bases?
- Through the Experts at Hand offer, we want to ensure that mainstream settings can get quick specialist support for children and young people. What arrangements are needed between local area partners (education, health, social care) to deliver this effectively?
- How can Specialist Provision Packages be designed to effectively support the main types of need we currently recognise?
