Following a consultation last year the Government has unveiled proposals to boost support for children with special educational needs or who are in alternative provision.
The consultation received thousands of responses and was carried out alongside 175 events put on by the Department for Education which heard from over 4,500 people alone.
The proposals include new national standards for early identification of needs and set expectations for support that should be available in mainstream settings. The Government aims to ensure that more children’s needs can be met in mainstream settings without needing an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).
The proposals also remove bureaucracy for cases that do need an EHCP by introducing standardised plans and supporting local authorities to use technology consistently.
More broadly the Government is opening 33 new special free schools with 49 in the pipeline to ensure needs are met across the country. You can read more about the plans on the DfE’s website here.
Commenting on this Andrew Jones MP said: “From my own inbox I know that parents locally sometimes have a fight on their hands to ensure their children get the targeted support they need.”
“I am pleased to see proposals which will cut red tape and hopefully reduce the number of children who require an EHCP. The Government is right to invest in this area to simplify processes for schools and parents. I hope that this will lead to speedier interventions to help children who just need a bit of extra support.”
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