The Post-16 Education and Skills Bill must be amended to include clauses around provision for students with special educational needs, Lord Addington has said. 

In the most recent list of amendments tabled by the House of Lords, Lord Addington, currently president of the British Dyslexia Association, called for local skills improvement plans to take account of the need to identify and support those with additional needs.

He also tabled other amendments around ensuring teacher training included special educational needs awareness training, and the need for the lifelong learning entitlement to include support for students with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND).

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The skills bill is currently making its way through Parliament, and heralds major reform for the further education sector. The next reading is on 6 July.

Natspec’s chief executive, Clare Howard, said: “Natspec supports the amendments to the bill put forward by Lord Addington and Lord Watson. It is crucial to ensure that young people with SEND are included and their contributions recognised.

“The bill offers an excellent opportunity to strengthen routes into employment for young people with SEND and close the disability employment gap. In addition, we would like to see a link between the Skills and Post-16 Education Bill and the Government’s SEND review, due to be published shortly. There is an opportunity for both reforms to acknowledge the potential of young people with SEND, the need for resources and support for this group, and the important role of SEND specialists in colleges.”

Skills bill: amendments around SEND in full 

Lord Addington

Page 2, line 31, at end insert - “(6A) A local skills improvement plan must take account of the need to identify and support those with special educational needs.”

Page 2, line 33, at end insert - “(8) Provision for those with special educational needs must include the capacity to support and identify training in areas covered by other local skills plans.”

Page 5, line 34, at end insert - “(aa) from time to time review how well the education or training provided by the institution meets the needs of those with special educational needs in its local area, and”

Page 19, line 9, at end insert - “(2A) Regulations under subsection (1) must include provision to require ITT(FE) courses to include special educational needs awareness training relevant to the students of ITT(FE) courses within an institution.”

Insert the following new clause - “Lifelong learning: special educational needs. When exercising functions under this Act, the secretary of state must ensure that provision and support under the lifelong learning entitlement includes support for students with special educational needs or disabilities that is of an equivalent standard to those with similar needs in higher education.

Lord Watson of Invergowrie

Page 2, line 31, at end insert “, and (d) identifies actions that relevant providers can take to support - (i) people with an EHC plan under section 37 of the Children and Families Act 2014, and (ii) disabled people without an EHC plan, to access post-16 technical education or training, including supported internships.