The government has revealed the members of its new national board to oversee its planned reforms of alternative provision (AP) and services for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
The National SEND and Alternative Provision Implementation Board is being co-chaired by children’s minister Claire Coutinho and Maria Caulfield, minister for women, mental health and women’s health, and has 20 other members from the education, health and children’s services sectors.
They include Leora Cruddas, chief executive of the Confederation of School Trusts (CST), children’s commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza and Chris Russell, national director of education at Ofsted.
The board’s job will be to oversee and advise on the government’s SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan, which was published in March following the long-awaited SEND review last year.
The plan includes creating new national standards in SEND and moving to a digitised system for education, health and care plans (EHCPs).
Members of the board will also “provide feedback and insight from their sector”. It will meet roughly every three months, the DfE has said.
The terms of reference for the group, published today, say the board will “provide essential challenge, advice and support on the delivery of the plan to enable ministers to take informed decisions to improve children’s outcomes and parents’ and carers’ experience of the SEND and AP system”.
The board will ensure that the government takes “full account of the views and needs of children and young people with SEND and in AP” and “fosters co-production with children and young people with SEND and in AP, and their parents and carers”.
Members will also be expected to use their expertise and knowledge to advise on the delivery and roll-out of the plan, and provide insight into the current performance of the SEND and AP system.
Ms Coutinho said: “It was fantastic to chair the first meeting of the National SEND and Alternative Provision Implementation Board and to get the board members’ views on how to best make sure each local area can deliver for parents and families through our new local inclusion plans.
“The board members bring a range of expertise from parents and family groups, education, health and local government that will be invaluable in making sure that the new system we are creating delivers the early intervention and better support that children need.”
