An education minister has told MPs that the long-awaited SEND review will deliver a “huge overhaul” of the system.
Children’s minister Will Quince accepted that the process of delivering the review - first launched more than two years ago - had taken too long, but said this was down to the scale of the challenge.
He also indicated that £2.6 billion in capital spending announced for special educational needs provision could help keep more pupils in mainstream schools and described this as the first “piece in the jigsaw” in delivering the SEND review.
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Mr Quince was appearing before the Commons Education Select Committee today for an accountability hearing.
Here is everything you need to know:
1. The DfE was strongly criticised for its handling of the SEND review
Committee chairman Robert Halfon described the government’s handling of the SEND review as “appalling”.
The review was launched in 2019 but has been repeatedly delayed and is now due to be published in the first quarter of 2022.
Mr Halfon acknowledged that Mr Quince was new to the job but criticised the government’s past handling of the process.
He said: “I have to say that the department’s response to solving the SEND problems that many parents and children have with special educational needs is nothing short of appalling.
“This has gone on for two years and nearly three months since the department announced the review. Nothing has been done. You’ve appointed a panel to review the review and then there will be a Green Paper, which is, in essence, another review but more public and will take a long time.”
In response, Mr Quince said that it was his responsibility as the minister and that it was his job to get the SEND review “over the line and in the right place”, and added: “I assure you that is going to happen.”
2. Minister admitted SEND review shortcomings
Mr Quince said that he accepted that the SEND review had taken too long.
He added: “I’ll explain a little bit about why it has taken as long as it has but where I agree with you [Mr Halfon] is that I think we all would have wanted this to have been concluded a lot faster.
“And also where I agree with the chair is the communication and the expectation management of the department to parents and SEND community stakeholders has been regrettable.
“We should have done better at setting expectations as to where we were and the scale of the challenge we faced.”
Mr Quince highlighted how Covid-19 had delayed the review. Mr Halfon challenged this and said other policies - such as the Lifetime Skills Guarantee - had been delivered during the pandemic.
But the minister said that the SEND review relied on the Department for Education working with the Department of Health and Social Care and he said the pandemic has impacted on this.
3. SEND review will be ‘a huge overhaul’ of the system
Mr Quince told the committee that the findings of the SEND review will be published in the first quarter of 2022 alongside a Green Paper with proposals.
Mr Halfon asked why the government was not introducing a White Paper [a policy document] and described a Green Paper [setting out proposals for discussion] “as another review”.
The minister responded that the government was producing a Green Paper “because of the scale of what we are looking to do. It’s a huge overhaul of the SEND system”.
He said there would be a three-month consultation following the publication of the Green Paper.
Mr Quince also defended the decision to appoint a steering group panel to help deliver the SEND review.
He said: “I have got a steering panel because I don’t want to get to the spring and then you say to me, ‘This is not up to scratch.’”
4. DfE working with 49 councils to improve SEND services
MPs were told that the DfE is working with 49 councils to improve SEND services.
Concerns were raised during the committee meeting about the number of authority areas where weaknesses have been identified in SEND area inspections carried out by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission.
Indra Morris, the DfE director-general for children’s services, communications and strategy, revealed that the government was working directly with around one in three councils in the country to secure improvements.
Last month, the DfE appointed a commissioner to take over SEND services in Birmingham after an inspection report said that failings had not been addressed.
Ms Morris told MPs today that the DfE was working with 49 authorities to improve services.
5. Minister says £2.6bn capital spend is ‘first piece’ in the jigsaw
Mr Quince was asked by Conservative MP Tom Hunt whether the Treasury understood the importance of SEND.
Mr Hunt added: “To what extent do they see it as investment and to what extent do they see it as spending?”
The minister replied: “More than ever, actually, I think the Treasury really do get this and get the importance of it.”
He highlighted the £2.6 billion for SEND school places, which was included in the recent government spending review.
Mr Quince added: “The key bit is the £2.6 billion because if we are going to transform the SEND system, we have to really look at mainstream.
“Now part of that £2.6 billion will rightly be building more special schools because we know that that provision is always going to be required.”
But the minister said the funding could also help more pupils to attend a local mainstream school.
He added: “Can we build new units within mainstream schools? It might be that the child needs one hour a day there or it might be the whole day...but the main thing is they’re still spending lunchtime...they’re seeing their friends after school, they feel included in the mainstream school setting.
“Now that won’t work for everyone but the point is the £2.6 billion is game-changing and it’s the first piece in the jigsaw to allow us to deliver the SEND review in the first quarter of the new year.”
