The Department for Education’s most senior official said he has concerns about schools not taking on pupils with special educational needs after “seeing it with my own eyes”.
Jonathan Slater, the department’s permanent secretary, told MPs on the public accounts committee that he has had first-hand experience of the controversial practice.
The spending watchdog held its first session on an inquiry into special educational needs today.
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Mr Slater was asked whether he was concerned that some pupils with SEND, but who do not have education health and care plans (EHCPs), were not being admitted into schools because of poor admission practices.
Sarah Olney MP highlighted a report by London Councils, published last year, which she said found that a “significant number of schools were engaging in poor admissions practices to informally exclude SEND children from even starting in school”.
He replied: “Definitely we would have concerns about that. It is one of the reasons why the Ofsted regime has been changed to put more focus on inclusion.
“The first inspection I went to as the permanent secretary of the Department for Education was a good example of a school which Ofsted identified as refusing to engage with the local authority on taking children with precisely the circumstances you describe, so I have seen it with my own eyes.
“Absolutely I see it happening and it’s our job to make sure that we have the accountability system in place and we are taking action where schools are not acting as they should.”
Mr Slater appeared along with Suzanne Lunn, the deputy director of the DfE’s SEND division, and André Imich, a professional adviser for SEND for the department.
The public accounts committee’s inquiry into SEND follows a National Audit Office (NAO) report, published last year, which warned that vulnerable children with SEND were not having their needs met.
Olivia Blake MP asked DfE officials why they thought so many pupils with SEND were being excluded.
Dr Imich said that it was important to focus on what the DfE was planning to do to improve the situation.
He highlighted the government’s creation of behaviour hubs, which he said would help improve support for schools.
