Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Reforms

The government’s long-awaited response to the SEND and alternative provision (AP) green paper includes plans for new national standards for supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and the digitisation of education, health and care plans (EHCPs). Their overarching aims can be found here: SEND-Reforms-2023Download The plans for the future system can be found here: SEND-Reforms-2023-pt-2Download The full document can be read here: SEND_and_alternative_provision_improvement_planDownload ...
Read More

Compelling attendance won’t result in more autistic pupils in school

Originally posted by www.ambitiousaboutautism.org.uk The Government today published its Schools Bill with Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi announcing a 'strict' and 'non-negotiable' approach on school attendance.    The Bill will order schools across England to produce plans for addressing absenteeism. The Government also plans to issue new central guidance on the best approach to fining parents whose children are absent from school. Over 40,000 autistic pupils (31%) were persistent absentees in 2020/21.   Responding to the bill, Jolanta Lasota, Chief Executive of Ambitious about Autism, said:    “These measures are a regressive step and miss the point entirely about why many autistic pupils can’t attend school.   “Autistic young people tell us they desperately want to go to school, just like everyone else, but many can’t because of inaccessible school environments, teaching, and expectations that they be something they are not: neurotypical.  “Compelling these young people to be at a school they can’t access, without the support they need to attend, will not help them learn. Punishing their...
Read More
Key measures proposed in SEND and alternative provision green paper

Key measures proposed in SEND and alternative provision green paper

Legal requirements for councils around inclusion and the creation of national standards focussed on support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are among a raft of proposals laid out in the government’s SEND green paper. The SEND and alternative provision green paper has been published following the completion of the Department for Education’s long-awaited SEND review which was launched in 2019. The proposals, backed by £70m of new funding, will be subject to a 13-week public consultation due to close on 1 July, DfE has announced. https://youtu.be/Ut_LI2sK1R4 Proposals Increased early intervention for children with SEND and a single system combining SEND and alternative education provision feature highly in the plans. The creation of new national standards across education, health and care to build for a higher performing SEND system are also among measures set out in the paper. The national standards will build on the Children and Families Act 2014 which is currently the subject of an enquiry by peers. The standards look set to...
Read More