Asked by: Lord Ramsbotham (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to address the findings of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills in her 2017–18 Annual Report in relation to provision for children with special education needs and disabilities (SEND); and what plans they have to improve (1) identification of SEND, and (2) outcomes for those who do not quite meet the threshold for an education, health and care plan.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
We are grateful to Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills for her 2017 to 2018 Annual Report and will carefully consider the findings.
Local area special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) inspections and revisits carried out by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission are intended to support improvement and provide reassurance to families that areas will be held to account. They have become a significant driver of improvement in the system and have identified a number of strengths around identification of needs and support for those children without an education, health and care (EHC) plan. We are working with partners - including NHS England - to spread this effective practice more widely.
The statutory SEND Code of Practice sets out high expectations of schools about how they identify and meet the special educational needs (SEN) of their pupils. This guidance is attached.
We have made clear through the framework for initial teacher training (ITT) that it should equip trainees to identify the needs of all pupils and make provision for them, including seeking the advice of colleagues with specialist knowledge and experience. We are currently undertaking an audit of university-based and school-based providers of ITT which we will use to produce a best practice guide.
Schools must ensure that staff can meet the needs of children with SEND, including those without EHC plans, as part of their approach to school improvement, professional development and performance management. All schools (including academies and free schools) must also have a SEN co-ordinator who must hold qualified teacher status and, where required, must achieve the master’s level national award in SEN co-ordination within three years of being appointed.
We have a contract with the Whole School SEND Consortium, led by the National Association for SEN, to provide support to the SEND schools’ workforce. The consortium has produced resources and training to enable schools to review their SEND provision and to ensure they can identify and meet the needs of pupils effectively. Additionally, the department has funded a range of organisations to develop specialist resources and training to support teachers to identify and effectively meet the needs of pupils with autism; dyslexia and specific learning difficulties; speech, language and communication needs; sensory impairments and physical disabilities. All the materials funded by the department are hosted on the SEND gateway, an online portal which offers education professionals free, easy access to high quality information, resources and training for identifying and meeting the needs of children with SEND.
Asked by: Lord Ramsbotham (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that opportunity areas develop plans to improve communication and language skills of children and young people over the age of five.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
We know that poor speech, language and communication (SLC) skills can hold children back at school and limit their later life chances. This was identified as an issue in all 12 of the Opportunity Areas, which is why we have put plans in place to improve outcomes in the early years and across all the different phases and age ranges.
Particular projects that include or focus on children over the age of five include the following:
In Stoke-on-Trent, we are extending the successful “Stoke Speaks Out” initiative to 25 primary schools with lower than average numbers of children attaining a good level of development. This will provide targeted, specialist support for early language, communication and literacy.
In Derby, we are inviting schools in the most deprived areas to participate in ‘Talk Derby’, an ambitious SLC programme offering a package of support including developing an improvement plan against their particular needs providing training and development for ‘front-line practitioners’ in identifying and supporting SLC needs and training parents to introduce an early talkers programme.
In Blackpool, we are targeting nine secondary schools in a key stage 3 reading project. This will provide a series of interventions with the aim of increasing students’ reading fluency, enhancing their vocabulary and improving their comprehension.
In Fenland and East Cambridgeshire, we are funding five schools to run evidence-based research projects to improve language and communication skills in their pupils, with a particular focus on the most disadvantaged.
In West Somerset, three schools have taken part in a systematic synthetic phonics programme, “Read Write Inc”, delivered by Ruth Miskin training. We are now making plans for a more widespread synthetic phonics programme for the next academic year.
In Bradford, we have approved a project through our Strategic School Improvement Fund that will support 23 schools to improve outcomes at key stage 1.
Asked by: Lord Ramsbotham (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that where there are concerns about a child or young person's behaviour in school an assessment is carried out to determine whether there are any causal factors such as difficulties with speech, language, and communication.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
We expect schools to have clear processes to support pupils who present challenging behaviour, including how they will manage the effect of any disruptive behaviour so it does not adversely affect other pupils.
With some pupils, such challenging behaviour may reflect a wide range of social and emotional difficulties, including underlying mental health difficulties or disorders or special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) such as difficulties with speech, language or communication. The SEND Code of Practice sets out the approach we would expect schools to take in relation to SEND, including requesting education, health and care (EHC) needs assessments.
The government has taken steps to improve access to support for speech, language and communication needs. For example, the Children and Families Act 2014 aims to ensure improvements to early identification of children with speech and language communication needs. There is ongoing work between the Department for Education and Public Health England to target early years professionals for involvement in this early identification.
To provide further support to school practice, we are reviewing our existing mental health and behaviour in schools guidance. This is to ensure it reflects the changing context for support with the implementation of the SEND reforms and changes that are happening in children and young people’s mental health following the ‘Future in Mind’ report (attached) and the mental health Green Paper: ‘Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision’ (attached).
We are also reforming training so that all teachers will be shown how to effectively manage behaviour in their first two years in the profession and have recently announced a £10 million investment to support schools to share best practice in behaviour management.
Asked by: Lord Ramsbotham (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans Ofsted has to consider children and young people's speech, language, and communication needs in their future research on special educational needs and difficulties, including provision of joint commissioning of specialist therapies and support.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
This is a matter for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to you directly and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Lord Ramsbotham (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to commission Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission to continue their local area special educational needs and disability inspections beyond the current initial five-year cycle.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Ofsted and Care Quality Commission inspections of the effectiveness of special educational needs and disability services are providing evidence of progress and are a powerful driver of improvement in local areas.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State announced on 5 July that he would be asking Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission to design a programme of further inspections to follow the current round, due to conclude in 2021; and for their advice on further inspection or monitoring of those areas required to produce a ‘Written Statement of Action’.
Asked by: Lord Ramsbotham (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Secretary of State for Education has discussed the recommendations in the report by I CAN and the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, Bercow: Ten Years On, published on 20 March, with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, particularly the recommendation that there should be a new cross-government strategy for children.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Officials from the Department for Education (DfE) and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) are in regular contact and are working together to implement the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms underpinned by the Children and Families Act 2014. Effective joint working between DHSC and DfE is at the heart of these reforms, at national and local level.
The recommendations of the ‘Bercow: Ten Years On’ report are very timely. They come at a time when we are considering the All Party Parliamentary Group on Autism’s report ‘Autism and education in England 2017’; and considering our response to Dame Christine Lenehan’s review of residential special schools, ‘Good Intentions, Good Enough?’.
We shall consider all of these reports carefully and are committed to responding to Dame Christine Lenehan’s review. We will take that opportunity to set out how the government will continue working to achieve the vision of a reformed SEND system, underpinned by the Children and Families Act 2014.
Asked by: Lord Ramsbotham (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which agencies are responsible for commissioning speech and language therapy services for young people aged 18 to 25 who (1) have, and (2) do not have, an Education, Health and Care Plan.
Answered by Lord Nash
We are committed to supporting children and young people with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) and recognise the importance of identifying SLCN early to enable the right support to be put in place and reduce the impact that they may have in the longer term.
The Children and Families Act 2014 places a renewed focus on the early identification of needs and focuses the system on the impact of the support provided to the child, rather than on how children access support according to categories of need.
The Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework (EYFS) sets out the key areas of learning which every provider must follow. For communication and language, the EYFS requires practitioners to give children the opportunity to experience a rich language environment, to develop their confidence and skills in expressing themselves and to speak and listen in a range of situations. Communication and language is a prime area of learning, within which it is expected that all children attain an expected level in the listening and attention, understanding and speaking early learning goals.
The EYFS profile results tells us that children’s development in these areas are improving year on year. In 2016, 81.6% of children achieved at least the expected level in communication and language compared to 72.2% in 2013.
The government recognises that the quality of the workforce has the biggest impact on children’s outcomes. We have recently published our workforce strategy which sets out our plans to remove the barriers to attracting, retaining and developing staff in the early years workforce. One of the planned actions is to provide training through voluntary and community sector grants on Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND), speech and language development and effective business management.
We have allocated £223 million to local authorities (LAs), since 2014 to support them to implement the SEND reforms. We published, in December 2016, seven Invitations to Tender for contracts totalling up to £4.8m to support children and young people with SEND in 2017-18.
One of the resulting contracts will specifically support those with SLCN and comes in addition to £1.7m that has already been invested in SLCN since the implementation of the SEND reforms in 2014. This funding is improving support for children and young people who have SLCN both with and without an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. One of the contract requirements will be to improve the quality of referrals and the effectiveness of commissioning specialist support for children and young people with SLCN, whether or not they have an EHC plan.
We are also delivering, through our strategic partners, a range of support for joint working between LAs and health bodies, including: self-assessment tools to jointly monitor progress with meeting responsibilities and briefings to support commissioning. In addition, from 2017-18, for the first time, NHS provider contracts will include a requirement that health professionals provide input into EHC plans within six weeks. We are working with NHS England (NHSE) to make best use of resources to support joint working, including NHSE-led workshops this spring, and to support the delivery of the Transforming Care Programme to improve services for children, young people and adults.
The Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on Clinical Commissioning Groups and LAs to deliver integrated support to improve children and young peoples’ outcomes. This means that local governance arrangements must be in place to ensure clear accountability for commissioning services for children and young people with SEND from birth to the age of 25, whether or not they have an EHC plan.
In addition, nurseries, schools and colleges must use their best endeavours to secure the necessary special education provision needed by those with identified SEND, which includes commissioning speech and language therapy services. Local authorities can also use their high needs budget to fund support without the need for an EHC plan if it is appropriate to do so.
Government, local areas and the professionals working with children and young people with SLCN all have their part to play in the commissioning of services and highlighting where challenges remain. To this end, we have put in place a new Ofsted and CQC inspection framework for assessing local area effectiveness with meeting their SEND responsibilities. We are working closely with the Department of Health and NHSE to respond to findings and support local areas to improve services and build on their strengths.
We expect details of services to meet SLCN, including how they can be accessed, to be included in the local offer, which every LA is required to publish in consultation with children, parents and young people. This enables families to hold LAs to account for any provision they feel has not been available as specified in the Local Offer, and to suggest new services they consider necessary.
Asked by: Lord Ramsbotham (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to issue an instruction to local authorities, schools and Clinical Commissioning Groups to commission services for children and young people with speech, language and communication needs who do not have an Education, Health and Care Plan; and if so, which department will issue that instruction.
Answered by Lord Nash
We are committed to supporting children and young people with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) and recognise the importance of identifying SLCN early to enable the right support to be put in place and reduce the impact that they may have in the longer term.
The Children and Families Act 2014 places a renewed focus on the early identification of needs and focuses the system on the impact of the support provided to the child, rather than on how children access support according to categories of need.
The Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework (EYFS) sets out the key areas of learning which every provider must follow. For communication and language, the EYFS requires practitioners to give children the opportunity to experience a rich language environment, to develop their confidence and skills in expressing themselves and to speak and listen in a range of situations. Communication and language is a prime area of learning, within which it is expected that all children attain an expected level in the listening and attention, understanding and speaking early learning goals.
The EYFS profile results tells us that children’s development in these areas are improving year on year. In 2016, 81.6% of children achieved at least the expected level in communication and language compared to 72.2% in 2013.
The government recognises that the quality of the workforce has the biggest impact on children’s outcomes. We have recently published our workforce strategy which sets out our plans to remove the barriers to attracting, retaining and developing staff in the early years workforce. One of the planned actions is to provide training through voluntary and community sector grants on Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND), speech and language development and effective business management.
We have allocated £223 million to local authorities (LAs), since 2014 to support them to implement the SEND reforms. We published, in December 2016, seven Invitations to Tender for contracts totalling up to £4.8m to support children and young people with SEND in 2017-18.
One of the resulting contracts will specifically support those with SLCN and comes in addition to £1.7m that has already been invested in SLCN since the implementation of the SEND reforms in 2014. This funding is improving support for children and young people who have SLCN both with and without an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. One of the contract requirements will be to improve the quality of referrals and the effectiveness of commissioning specialist support for children and young people with SLCN, whether or not they have an EHC plan.
We are also delivering, through our strategic partners, a range of support for joint working between LAs and health bodies, including: self-assessment tools to jointly monitor progress with meeting responsibilities and briefings to support commissioning. In addition, from 2017-18, for the first time, NHS provider contracts will include a requirement that health professionals provide input into EHC plans within six weeks. We are working with NHS England (NHSE) to make best use of resources to support joint working, including NHSE-led workshops this spring, and to support the delivery of the Transforming Care Programme to improve services for children, young people and adults.
The Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on Clinical Commissioning Groups and LAs to deliver integrated support to improve children and young peoples’ outcomes. This means that local governance arrangements must be in place to ensure clear accountability for commissioning services for children and young people with SEND from birth to the age of 25, whether or not they have an EHC plan.
In addition, nurseries, schools and colleges must use their best endeavours to secure the necessary special education provision needed by those with identified SEND, which includes commissioning speech and language therapy services. Local authorities can also use their high needs budget to fund support without the need for an EHC plan if it is appropriate to do so.
Government, local areas and the professionals working with children and young people with SLCN all have their part to play in the commissioning of services and highlighting where challenges remain. To this end, we have put in place a new Ofsted and CQC inspection framework for assessing local area effectiveness with meeting their SEND responsibilities. We are working closely with the Department of Health and NHSE to respond to findings and support local areas to improve services and build on their strengths.
We expect details of services to meet SLCN, including how they can be accessed, to be included in the local offer, which every LA is required to publish in consultation with children, parents and young people. This enables families to hold LAs to account for any provision they feel has not been available as specified in the Local Offer, and to suggest new services they consider necessary.
Asked by: Lord Ramsbotham (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to improve support for children and young people with speech, language and communication needs who do not have an Education, Health and Care Plan.
Answered by Lord Nash
We are committed to supporting children and young people with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) and recognise the importance of identifying SLCN early to enable the right support to be put in place and reduce the impact that they may have in the longer term.
The Children and Families Act 2014 places a renewed focus on the early identification of needs and focuses the system on the impact of the support provided to the child, rather than on how children access support according to categories of need.
The Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework (EYFS) sets out the key areas of learning which every provider must follow. For communication and language, the EYFS requires practitioners to give children the opportunity to experience a rich language environment, to develop their confidence and skills in expressing themselves and to speak and listen in a range of situations. Communication and language is a prime area of learning, within which it is expected that all children attain an expected level in the listening and attention, understanding and speaking early learning goals.
The EYFS profile results tells us that children’s development in these areas are improving year on year. In 2016, 81.6% of children achieved at least the expected level in communication and language compared to 72.2% in 2013.
The government recognises that the quality of the workforce has the biggest impact on children’s outcomes. We have recently published our workforce strategy which sets out our plans to remove the barriers to attracting, retaining and developing staff in the early years workforce. One of the planned actions is to provide training through voluntary and community sector grants on Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND), speech and language development and effective business management.
We have allocated £223 million to local authorities (LAs), since 2014 to support them to implement the SEND reforms. We published, in December 2016, seven Invitations to Tender for contracts totalling up to £4.8m to support children and young people with SEND in 2017-18.
One of the resulting contracts will specifically support those with SLCN and comes in addition to £1.7m that has already been invested in SLCN since the implementation of the SEND reforms in 2014. This funding is improving support for children and young people who have SLCN both with and without an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. One of the contract requirements will be to improve the quality of referrals and the effectiveness of commissioning specialist support for children and young people with SLCN, whether or not they have an EHC plan.
We are also delivering, through our strategic partners, a range of support for joint working between LAs and health bodies, including: self-assessment tools to jointly monitor progress with meeting responsibilities and briefings to support commissioning. In addition, from 2017-18, for the first time, NHS provider contracts will include a requirement that health professionals provide input into EHC plans within six weeks. We are working with NHS England (NHSE) to make best use of resources to support joint working, including NHSE-led workshops this spring, and to support the delivery of the Transforming Care Programme to improve services for children, young people and adults.
The Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on Clinical Commissioning Groups and LAs to deliver integrated support to improve children and young peoples’ outcomes. This means that local governance arrangements must be in place to ensure clear accountability for commissioning services for children and young people with SEND from birth to the age of 25, whether or not they have an EHC plan.
In addition, nurseries, schools and colleges must use their best endeavours to secure the necessary special education provision needed by those with identified SEND, which includes commissioning speech and language therapy services. Local authorities can also use their high needs budget to fund support without the need for an EHC plan if it is appropriate to do so.
Government, local areas and the professionals working with children and young people with SLCN all have their part to play in the commissioning of services and highlighting where challenges remain. To this end, we have put in place a new Ofsted and CQC inspection framework for assessing local area effectiveness with meeting their SEND responsibilities. We are working closely with the Department of Health and NHSE to respond to findings and support local areas to improve services and build on their strengths.
We expect details of services to meet SLCN, including how they can be accessed, to be included in the local offer, which every LA is required to publish in consultation with children, parents and young people. This enables families to hold LAs to account for any provision they feel has not been available as specified in the Local Offer, and to suggest new services they consider necessary.
Asked by: Lord Ramsbotham (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support has been provided since 2014 to children and young people with speech, language and communication needs who (1) have, and (2) do not have, an Education, Health and Care Plan.
Answered by Lord Nash
We are committed to supporting children and young people with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) and recognise the importance of identifying SLCN early to enable the right support to be put in place and reduce the impact that they may have in the longer term.
The Children and Families Act 2014 places a renewed focus on the early identification of needs and focuses the system on the impact of the support provided to the child, rather than on how children access support according to categories of need.
The Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework (EYFS) sets out the key areas of learning which every provider must follow. For communication and language, the EYFS requires practitioners to give children the opportunity to experience a rich language environment, to develop their confidence and skills in expressing themselves and to speak and listen in a range of situations. Communication and language is a prime area of learning, within which it is expected that all children attain an expected level in the listening and attention, understanding and speaking early learning goals.
The EYFS profile results tells us that children’s development in these areas are improving year on year. In 2016, 81.6% of children achieved at least the expected level in communication and language compared to 72.2% in 2013.
The government recognises that the quality of the workforce has the biggest impact on children’s outcomes. We have recently published our workforce strategy which sets out our plans to remove the barriers to attracting, retaining and developing staff in the early years workforce. One of the planned actions is to provide training through voluntary and community sector grants on Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND), speech and language development and effective business management.
We have allocated £223 million to local authorities (LAs), since 2014 to support them to implement the SEND reforms. We published, in December 2016, seven Invitations to Tender for contracts totalling up to £4.8m to support children and young people with SEND in 2017-18.
One of the resulting contracts will specifically support those with SLCN and comes in addition to £1.7m that has already been invested in SLCN since the implementation of the SEND reforms in 2014. This funding is improving support for children and young people who have SLCN both with and without an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. One of the contract requirements will be to improve the quality of referrals and the effectiveness of commissioning specialist support for children and young people with SLCN, whether or not they have an EHC plan.
We are also delivering, through our strategic partners, a range of support for joint working between LAs and health bodies, including: self-assessment tools to jointly monitor progress with meeting responsibilities and briefings to support commissioning. In addition, from 2017-18, for the first time, NHS provider contracts will include a requirement that health professionals provide input into EHC plans within six weeks. We are working with NHS England (NHSE) to make best use of resources to support joint working, including NHSE-led workshops this spring, and to support the delivery of the Transforming Care Programme to improve services for children, young people and adults.
The Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on Clinical Commissioning Groups and LAs to deliver integrated support to improve children and young peoples’ outcomes. This means that local governance arrangements must be in place to ensure clear accountability for commissioning services for children and young people with SEND from birth to the age of 25, whether or not they have an EHC plan.
In addition, nurseries, schools and colleges must use their best endeavours to secure the necessary special education provision needed by those with identified SEND, which includes commissioning speech and language therapy services. Local authorities can also use their high needs budget to fund support without the need for an EHC plan if it is appropriate to do so.
Government, local areas and the professionals working with children and young people with SLCN all have their part to play in the commissioning of services and highlighting where challenges remain. To this end, we have put in place a new Ofsted and CQC inspection framework for assessing local area effectiveness with meeting their SEND responsibilities. We are working closely with the Department of Health and NHSE to respond to findings and support local areas to improve services and build on their strengths.
We expect details of services to meet SLCN, including how they can be accessed, to be included in the local offer, which every LA is required to publish in consultation with children, parents and young people. This enables families to hold LAs to account for any provision they feel has not been available as specified in the Local Offer, and to suggest new services they consider necessary.