Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the proposal in his Department's SEND review to only allow families with disabled children to pick a school from a pre-defined list, what assessment he has made of the potential impact on the mental health of parent carers from having to appeal this list in order to have their child attend a school that meets their disabled child’s needs.
Answered by Will Quince
Through the proposals set out in the SEND and AP green paper, it is our aim to provide parents and carers with a clearer understanding of the support that should be available to meet their child’s needs, regardless of where they live.
Where specialist provision is required, the department is consulting on proposals for a simplified process where parents will be supported to express an informed preference for a suitable placement from a tailored list of settings that are appropriate to meet their child’s needs.
This aims to give parents and carers clarity on what is available locally which may still include mainstream, special, independent, or out of borough provision where appropriate in order to meet their child’s needs.
The expectation is that all schools on the list will be settings that can meet the child’s special educational needs as identified in their education, health and care needs assessments, therefore reducing the need to appeal and improving the choice offered to parents.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 25 April 2022 to Question 155726 on Special Educational Needs: Tribunals, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the introduction of compulsory mediation on the ability of families with disabled children to access the SEND Tribunal and obtain redress when necessary.
Answered by Will Quince
As the SEND and AP green paper sets out, the new national system will be designed to minimise uncertainty and disagreements throughout the system and improve parental confidence. The department recognises, however, that disputes around decision-making may still occur.
The government’s proposals seek to resolve issues earlier and improve relationships locally by strengthening mediation, including consulting on making it mandatory. Appeals to the tribunal should only need to be made in cases where parents feel that their child’s needs or proposed provision arrangements are not in line with the new national SEND standards, and mediation has not resolved the dispute. Mediation helps to maintain and improve relationships between providers, local authorities and families which is important for long-term collaborative working and supports better outcomes for children and young people.
This will reduce the need for cases to escalate to tribunal. The department will make sure there is appropriate support available to parents to help them understand the mediation process and how best to engage with it. However, parents will still be able to go to tribunal if necessary.
The green paper is now out for public consultation on its proposals until 22 July.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the policy proposal in his March 2022 SEND Review to make mediation mandatory before allowing families to go to the SEND Tribunal, what assessment he has made of the impact this will have on access to support for families with disabled children.
Answered by Will Quince
Throughout the SEND Review, parents and carers told the department how lengthy, stressful, and often expensive, the tribunal process can be.
In the current system, in most cases, families must secure a mediation certificate before registering an appeal with the tribunal, but they do not have to participate in the mediation itself. If the parent or young person does decide to proceed with mediation then the local authority must ensure that a mediation session takes place within 30 days. There were 4,100 mediation cases held during 2020. Of these, only 1,100 (27%) were followed by appeals to the tribunal.
Waiting for a SEND tribunal hearing can take significantly longer - the tribunal has a performance measure that 75% of appeals should be brought to hearing and the decision issued within 22 weeks.
This government’s proposals seek to resolve issues earlier and improve relationships locally by strengthening mediation, including consulting on making it mandatory. Parents will still be able to go to tribunal if necessary.
The Green Paper is now out for public consultation on its proposals until 1 July.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the current requirement for parents to consider mediation before accessing the SEND Tribunal; and for what reason he has concluded that mediation should become mandatory before accessing that tribunal.
Answered by Will Quince
Throughout the SEND Review, parents and carers told the department how lengthy, stressful, and often expensive, the tribunal process can be.
In the current system, in most cases, families must secure a mediation certificate before registering an appeal with the tribunal, but they do not have to participate in the mediation itself. If the parent or young person does decide to proceed with mediation then the local authority must ensure that a mediation session takes place within 30 days. There were 4,100 mediation cases held during 2020. Of these, only 1,100 (27%) were followed by appeals to the tribunal.
Waiting for a SEND tribunal hearing can take significantly longer - the tribunal has a performance measure that 75% of appeals should be brought to hearing and the decision issued within 22 weeks.
This government’s proposals seek to resolve issues earlier and improve relationships locally by strengthening mediation, including consulting on making it mandatory. Parents will still be able to go to tribunal if necessary.
The Green Paper is now out for public consultation on its proposals until 1 July.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will publish the guidance to local authorities on how to process applications from parents to defer their child’s entry to school.
Answered by Robin Walker
Most children start school in the September following their 4th birthday. The department has not made an assessment of the effect of deferring school entry on children who were born in August.
In September 2020 the department published guidance for local authorities and advice for parents on delaying entry to school for summer born children. This includes guidance on transition to secondary school for children who delayed their start at school. The guidance helps admission authorities to understand the framework within which they must operate when responding to parental requests for summer born children to be admitted out of their normal age group. Admission authorities must make decisions based on the circumstances of each case and in the best interests of the child concerned. Survey data shows that almost 9 in 10 requests were approved in 2020.
Any change allowing the parents of summer born children the automatic right to delay their child’s entry to reception, and for the child to remain with that cohort throughout their education, would require primary legislation.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department takes to ensure that local authorities have a consistent and common approach to dealing with applications from parents to defer their child’s entry to school.
Answered by Robin Walker
Most children start school in the September following their 4th birthday. The department has not made an assessment of the effect of deferring school entry on children who were born in August.
In September 2020 the department published guidance for local authorities and advice for parents on delaying entry to school for summer born children. This includes guidance on transition to secondary school for children who delayed their start at school. The guidance helps admission authorities to understand the framework within which they must operate when responding to parental requests for summer born children to be admitted out of their normal age group. Admission authorities must make decisions based on the circumstances of each case and in the best interests of the child concerned. Survey data shows that almost 9 in 10 requests were approved in 2020.
Any change allowing the parents of summer born children the automatic right to delay their child’s entry to reception, and for the child to remain with that cohort throughout their education, would require primary legislation.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to introduce legislative proposals to clarify the guidance to local authorities on when parents apply to defer their child’s entry to school.
Answered by Robin Walker
Most children start school in the September following their 4th birthday. The department has not made an assessment of the effect of deferring school entry on children who were born in August.
In September 2020 the department published guidance for local authorities and advice for parents on delaying entry to school for summer born children. This includes guidance on transition to secondary school for children who delayed their start at school. The guidance helps admission authorities to understand the framework within which they must operate when responding to parental requests for summer born children to be admitted out of their normal age group. Admission authorities must make decisions based on the circumstances of each case and in the best interests of the child concerned. Survey data shows that almost 9 in 10 requests were approved in 2020.
Any change allowing the parents of summer born children the automatic right to delay their child’s entry to reception, and for the child to remain with that cohort throughout their education, would require primary legislation.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will publish guidance to local authorities on determining which year group a child should start secondary school when their entry to primary school had been previously deferred.
Answered by Robin Walker
Most children start school in the September following their 4th birthday. The department has not made an assessment of the effect of deferring school entry on children who were born in August.
In September 2020 the department published guidance for local authorities and advice for parents on delaying entry to school for summer born children. This includes guidance on transition to secondary school for children who delayed their start at school. The guidance helps admission authorities to understand the framework within which they must operate when responding to parental requests for summer born children to be admitted out of their normal age group. Admission authorities must make decisions based on the circumstances of each case and in the best interests of the child concerned. Survey data shows that almost 9 in 10 requests were approved in 2020.
Any change allowing the parents of summer born children the automatic right to delay their child’s entry to reception, and for the child to remain with that cohort throughout their education, would require primary legislation.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effect of deferring school entry on children who were born in August.
Answered by Robin Walker
Most children start school in the September following their 4th birthday. The department has not made an assessment of the effect of deferring school entry on children who were born in August.
In September 2020 the department published guidance for local authorities and advice for parents on delaying entry to school for summer born children. This includes guidance on transition to secondary school for children who delayed their start at school. The guidance helps admission authorities to understand the framework within which they must operate when responding to parental requests for summer born children to be admitted out of their normal age group. Admission authorities must make decisions based on the circumstances of each case and in the best interests of the child concerned. Survey data shows that almost 9 in 10 requests were approved in 2020.
Any change allowing the parents of summer born children the automatic right to delay their child’s entry to reception, and for the child to remain with that cohort throughout their education, would require primary legislation.