Oral Answers to Questions

David Johnston Excerpts

Monday 16th January 2023 Commons Chamber

[Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East) (Lab)]

3. What steps she is taking to improve support for (a) children with special educational needs and disabilities and (b) their families.

[David Johnston (Wantage) (Con)]

10. What steps her Department is taking to support schools with pupils with special educational needs.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Claire Coutinho)]

All children, no matter their special educational need or disability, deserve the right support to be able to succeed. We will be publishing a full response to the SEND and alternative provision Green Paper in an improvement plan early this year, and we continue to work closely with children, families and education, healthcare and local government sectors on this very important issue.

--- Later in debate ---

[Claire Coutinho]

I can assure the hon. Lady that we are working incredibly hard, and we will be publishing a response imminently. In the meantime, we are rolling out training on mental health to all schools across the country, and I am working very hard with my counterparts at the Department for Health and Social Care to make sure that, when we look at the proposals on SEND, they are brought fully into the picture as well.

[David Johnston]

Many parents in Oxfordshire are unhappy with the county council for a variety of reasons—from emails that are never answered, to education, health and care plans that come back with wrong child’s details, to long delays in receiving EHCPs. My hon. Friend will know that many parents want an EHCP because it has become the only way to get support for their children, though this might not have been necessary had they received support from the school at an earlier stage. What steps is she taking to address this?

[Claire Coutinho]

My hon. Friend has raised this issue with me several time. One key part of the reforms set out in the SEND Green Paper will be clear standards about what help children with different SEND needs should be getting at school. That will give parents greater transparency and accountability regarding what their child should reasonably get, and also means that children will get the early help that my hon. Friend so rightly talks about.