The Coram Group has today responded to the government’s consultation on its proposals to reform the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system, addressing issues including changes to the SEND Tribunal, how to ensure children are best supported by the Universal offer, and the needs of children in and on the edges of care.
Coram CEO Dame Carol Homden said: “Every child has a right to a suitable education so any reform to the SEND system must be child-led. Most children with SEND are already in mainstream school and funding following the child is a key ingredient in building behaviours for inclusion and trust and confidence in any proposed new tiered system. Any parent who has a child with SEND knows that access to support feels like a battle. This consultation represents an opportunity to change that – to a clearer guarantee of consistent levels of support based on the child’s needs.”
Highlights of Coram’s response include:
Engaging with children and young people
While children, young people and families have been consulted as part of this consultation, that process of engagement should be a permanent fixture: children and young people should be consulted in groups appropriate to their age and capacity, as well as in condition- or need-specific groups. It is important to reflect different groups of children and young people and to ensure geographic representation to reflect differences in provision in different local areas.
Children in and on the edges of care
While over half (57%) of school-aged children in care having special educational needs, compared to 18% of all children, Coram notes that the proposed reforms have very little focus on this group despite the disproportionate impact. Proposals need to be drawn up with the widest possible definition of families in mind, including children in kinship care arrangements, foster care, supported accommodation, and other forms of state care. In particular, the role of corporate parents in these reforms in crucial.
Extend this consultation to include legal changes
Not all elements of reform are being consulted upon. Some of the most impactful changes, such as changes to the remit of the SEND Tribunal, are not open to consultation at all. Families and children cannot have a genuine say in these decisions unless the consultation is extended to include those major reform elements not currently included.
The Universal offer
The term ’Universal offer’ needs to be clearly defined to ensure that all settings from early years and upwards have a clear understanding of what this should look like for their setting (inclusive, low stress and accessible) and this must also be shared with parents and carers to manage expectations. We welcome the Government’s ambition to place inclusion at the heart of everyday practice, including improvements to the national curriculum, support available to children and young people. However, without sufficient long-term funding the efficacy of the Universal offer is in question.
School settings considerations
We recommend settings create inclusive, low-stress learning environments that proactively meet the needs of children and young people with SEND. Settings should design predictable routines, clear structures, and adaptations that reduce cognitive load, anxiety and sensory overwhelm.
Early years
The new additional funding stream ‘Inclusive Early Years Funding (IEYF)’ is designed to help early years settings become inclusive by design, but the funding is proposed to be allocated based on setting size (rather than the number of children with SEND) and excludes childminders and smaller settings and therefore the children they support.
Bullying
Children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are significantly more likely to experience bullying than their peers, including disability- and prejudice-based bullying. This can affect attendance, mental health, participation and attainment — effects that are often more pronounced for children with SEND, who may experience bullying more intensely or process and communicate their experiences differently from their peers. Genuine inclusion cannot be achieved unless all young people feel safe in their educational setting.
Accountability
It is not currently clear by what meaningful mechanism, if any, schools and Local Authorities can be held accountable for the support offered in the Targeted and Targeted Plus layers. The school complaints system is not fit for this purpose, because it offers little to no independent scrutiny.
Experts at hand
In order for the ‘Experts at Hand’ service to be effective, there will need to be significant recruitment in specialisms including educational psychology and speech and language therapy. This is likely to be very challenging to achieve given the waiting times and lack of access we see every day.
Early years considerations
For early years professionals, there must be specific targeted SEND training for all staff from the beginning of their careers to ensure that they have the knowledge and skills to ensure they have the knowledge and the skills to provide a truly inclusive environment and are able to support all children’s needs from the start.
Changes to the SEND Tribunal
The lack of consultation on changes to the SEND Tribunal is a serious concern. SEND Tribunals currently have the power to make decisions about the school placements and are able to name these in section I EHC plans. The current proposal removes that legal right, leaving children and families without any access to enforceable rights to determine where their child is educated. For the reasons already set out, school complaints processes are not an adequate replacement for legally enforceable rights. This is likely to cause significant tensions between schools and parents/carers, adding more stress on the school system and parents. It is also likely to result more litigious action, such as judicial reviews of decisions.
Childminders
The role of childminders in the SEND system requires further focus. Further scrutiny of the role of homebased care in early years is required to ensure that early intervention works, and that children get the early support they need.
Notes for Editors
You can read the full submission from Coram here.
The government confirmed its intention to legislate on SEND through the new Education for All Bill included last week in The King’s Speech.