Asked by: Iqbal Mohamed (Independent - Dewsbury and Batley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had recent discussions with (a) SEND advocacy organisations and (b) special school leaders on (i) attendance, (ii) attainment and (iii) wellbeing for students with SEND who spend part of their education learning from home.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and I continue to engage with special educational needs and disabilities charities, stakeholders and parents and carers on a wide variety of issues, including through weekly engagement sessions via webinars, meetings and visits. We also conduct roundtables with charities and campaigners, the most recent of which was in June.
These engagements will carry on throughout the White Paper consultation period into the autumn and beyond.
Asked by: Iqbal Mohamed (Independent - Dewsbury and Batley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support structured partnerships between mainstream schools and specialist SEND education providers.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The government has committed to enhancing the capability of mainstream schools to better support pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
We are encouraged by emerging examples of effective collaboration, where special schools are working in partnership with mainstream settings to share specialist expertise.
Through our Change Programme, we are currently piloting approaches whereby alternative provision settings provide outreach support to mainstream schools. The insights gained from these pilots will inform future policy development and help shape sustainable, effective partnerships between mainstream schools and specialist SEND providers.
Asked by: Iqbal Mohamed (Independent - Dewsbury and Batley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children are on the SEND waiting list in Dewsbury and Batley constituency.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department collects information from local authorities on the number of requests for an education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment, the number of EHC needs assessments carried out and the number of EHC plans issued on a calendar year basis. The latest figures we hold relate to the 2023 calendar year. Information for the 2024 calendar year will be published on 26 June.
The number of requests for an EHC needs assessment, the number of EHC needs assessments and the number of EHC plans issued within the statutory timeframe of 20 weeks from the date of the request for EHC needs assessment is given for Kirklees local authority in the table available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/2a676326-624e-4d03-96c7-08dd85738b16.