Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan

Today, I am proud to announce publication of the “Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan”. This is a joint publication with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. This plan sets out the next steps we will take to deliver a more positive experience for children, young people and families.

Our “Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and Alternative Provision Green Paper”, published in March 2022, set out proposals to deliver a more inclusive system. What we heard through the consultation on the proposals set out in the Green Paper—particularly from parents and families—gives us confidence to establish a new national SEND and alternative provision system with the mission to:

fulfil children’s potential: children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities or attending alternative provision will enjoy their childhood, achieve their goals and be well prepared for adulthood and employment;

build parents’ trust: parents and carers experience a fairer, easily navigable system (across education, health and care) that restores their confidence that their children will get the right support, in the right place, at the right time;

provide financial sustainability: local leaders make the best use of record investment in the high needs budget to meet children and young people’s needs and improve outcomes, placing local authorities on a stable financial footing.

The improvement plan sets out that we will establish a single national system that delivers for every child and young person with special educational needs and disabilities from birth to age 25 so that they enjoy their childhood, achieve good outcomes, and are well prepared for their next step, whether that is employment, higher education or adult services.

To deliver consistent experience regardless of the school a child attends, where they live or their family background, we will develop new national special educational needs and disabilities and alternative provision standards, covering early years, school, and post-16 provision, setting out what types of support should be available and who should be responsible for making sure this happens, based on the best possible evidence. This will include clarity on the types of support that should be ordinarily available in mainstream settings. This will give families confidence and clarity on how their children’s needs will be met.

New practice guides, based on the best available evidence, will equip frontline professionals to identify needs early, accurately, and consistently so that the right support can be put in place. We will give families greater confidence that their child will be supported to fulfil their potential through improved mainstream provision in their local setting.