SEND

The Department for Education explains why Under 5 readers should read and respond to its SEND and Alternative Provision Green Paper

The SEND and Alternative Provision Green Paper, which the Department for Education (DfE) published on 29 March 2022, aims to create a more inclusive education system which will improve the experience and outcomes for children and young people with SEND and those who need alternative provision (AP).

With the Schools White Paper and wider reforms to health and social care, DfE seeks to create a coherent education, health and care system that works in the interests of all children and young people in England.

The government is as ambitious for children and young people with SEND or in alternative provision as it is for every other child. They’ve looked at the full range of the SEND system, spanning early years provision through to further education, and encompassing education, health and care. They have listened to hundreds of people across different sectors, including children and young people, parents, early years providers, schools, further education providers and alternative provision.

With everyone involved in the SEND and AP system agreeing that the system is not working as it should. The green paper sets out how government plans to improve that. The proposals aim to create a more inclusive education system with excellent local mainstream provision which will improve the experience and outcomes for children and young people with SEND and those who need alternative provision. 

The government is as ambitious for children and young people with SEND or in alternative provision as it is for every other child.

The department proposes to do this by:

• Setting new national statutory standards across education, health and care to build on the foundations created through the Children and Families Act 2014, for a higher performing SEND system.
  
  
• A simplified Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) through digitising plans to make them more flexible, reducing bureaucracy and supporting parents to make informed choices via a list of appropriate placements tailored to their child’s needs, meaning less time spent researching the right school.
  
  
• A new legal requirement for councils to introduce ‘local inclusion plans’ that bring together early years, schools and post-16 education with health and care services, giving system partners more certainty on who is responsible and when.
  
  
• Improved oversight and transparency through the publication of new ‘local inclusion dashboards’ to make roles and responsibilities of all partners within the system clearer for parents and young people, helping to drive better outcomes. 
  
  
• A new national framework for councils for banding and tariffs of High Needs, to match the national standards and offer clarity on the level of support expected, and put the system on a financially sustainable footing in the future.
  
  
• Changing the culture and practice in mainstream education to be more inclusive and better at identifying and supporting needs, including through earlier intervention and improved targeted support.
  
  
• Improving workforce training through the introduction of a new SENCo NPQ for school SENCos and increasing the number of staff with an accredited level 3 qualification in early years settings.
  
  
• A reformed and integrated role for alternative provision (AP), with a new delivery model in every local area focused on early intervention. AP will form an integral part of local SEND systems with improvements to settings and more funding stability.