Here we have a SEND report summary based on the government paper released recently. Are you a SEND teacher, a SENCo or primary teacher, either permanent or supply? If so, you may be interested in our 10 need to know facts about this long-awaited government SEND report. The report released on the 3rd March 2023, is titled “Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan. It maps out plans to improve SEND provision and access.
SEND report summary: 10 key points:
- £4.8m to fund a “specialist task force” such as mental health professionals and speech/language therapists who can offer intensive support.
- 33 special free schools to be built, in addition to the 49 already planned.
- 5,000 early years Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators (SENCo) to be trained.
- Training for a further 400 educational psychologists planned to improve earlier diagnoses.
- Paperwork to be digitised across local authorities to speed up the process of children receiving extra support.
- £70m to test and refine the improvement plans.
- Education Secretary Gillian Keegan informed the BBC that she felt it was wrong that parents needed to have a legal document in place for their child to receive support they needed.
- In addition Gillian Keegan also said that despite more money being spent on SEND provision, funds were being taken up by EHIC tribunals and very expensive places.
- Although welcomed by education unions, the length of time it will take to implement some of the policies and plans will take years.
- National standards for SEND support will be published by the end of 2025.
Click here to read the government’s report in full.