SEND Provision: East of England

Mark Hendrick Excerpts

Tuesday 8th October 2024 Westminster Hall

[Sir Mark Hendrick (in the Chair)]

Order. I ask Members when intervening that they make it much shorter than the intervention we have just heard.

[Jess Asato]

I agree with the hon. Member that early diagnosis helps that child and their family, and we also save ourselves money in the long term. I also welcome the curriculum review, which I hope will bring about a broader curriculum that allows everyone the opportunity to flourish.

I am glad the Government have made breaking down the barrier to opportunity a key mission, ensuring that all children get the best possible start in life. It is such an important task. I look forward to hearing more from the Minister about the Government’s ambitious plans and to hearing contributions from Members from across our region.

[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Sir Mark Hendrick (in the Chair)]

Before I call the next speaker, everybody can see the number of Members present, and quite a number have indicated that they wish to speak. We are fairly limited, as we have only half an hour for wind-ups at the end and the right of reply for Jess Asato. I ask Members to keep their comments to about two minutes, then everybody will get in. Where possible, I ask that you try to resist the urge to intervene too often because that takes time away from others and we have to finish on the dot at 4 o’clock. I remind Members that they should bob if they wish to be called.

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[Sir Mark Hendrick (in the Chair)]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for keeping his comments brief. I call the hon. Member for Southend West and Leigh (David Burton-Sampson).

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[Ben Obese-Jecty (Huntingdon) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Mark. I thank the hon. Member for Lowestoft (Jess Asato) for securing this debate, as the issue has a significant impact in the region that we represent. The issue of SEND provision has grown in recent years, and it shows no sign of abating. In the past decade, the number of pupils with SEND requirements in the UK has more than doubled; 1.2 million children in school require SEND support below the level of an education, health and care plan or EHCP.

In my constituency of Huntingdon, there is a growing sense that SEND provision is reaching a critical juncture. I was recently invited to visit one of the outstanding-rated primary schools in my constituency. Somersham Primary School has been transformed under its new leadership within the Meridian Trust. It could also be considered a victim of its own success. Such has been the progress made, and the success in facilitating growth in the number of young children with special needs, those who are non-verbal or need dedicated specialist one-to-one support to meet their needs, the school now has circa 20 children on an EHCP, a significant population within one small school. Speaking with staff there, it is evident that to meet the increased demand these schools must be resourced properly. Although the Government have committed £315 million to universal primary school breakfast clubs, it would surely be more effective to retain free meals for those children who genuinely need them, and make further significant investment in increasing dedicated individual support for children with complex educational needs.

At secondary level, Kimbolton School has a number of children who receive support for either special educational or social, emotional and mental health needs. These are pupils whose parents choose to educate them in the independent sector precisely because of the dearth of places and support in the state sector. These are pupils who may struggle to thrive and fulfil their potential without the benefit of a smaller class size and the more personal support that they require.

Of the 12,400 pupils who receive SEND support in independent schools across the east of England, 80% will not be protected from the application of VAT to fees, as they do not have an EHCP. The only protection announced thus far is for pupils who are funded by local authorities. Councils will be able to reclaim VAT paid, simultaneously increasing demand for EHCPs and costs for councils. The SEND-specific schools in the constituency, within Huntingdon itself, are Spring Common Academy and the newly opened Prestley Wood Academy in Alconbury Weald.

Prestley Wood Academy opened this academic year to its first 70 students, being delivered as part of a wider housing development, and will ultimately cater for 150 pupils aged between four and 19. It is SEND-specific, and it has been designed with specialised facilities, including two sensory rooms, a hydrotherapy pool, trampoline room and soft play. Those are crucial facilities for those who would benefit from them, but it can only cater for a limited number of pupils.

It is not only younger children who are impacted by the lack of provision. I recently visited the Huntingdon campus of Cambridge Regional College in order better to understand the challenges faced by further education providers. Across its two campuses, there are in the region of 4,000 students but, owing to the nature of the college and the courses it provides, there are a staggering 600 students with an EHCP, of whom around 400 require additional assistance. That places significant additional strain on staff and staffing. With the added complexities posed by the needs of young adults, a huge effort is required to ensure that those needs are met. The college has a team of 12 dedicated solely to providing mental health support.

SEND funding in England is part of the dedicated schools grant, not allocated per individual SEND pupil. Local authorities determine the individual school allocations. The safety valve intervention programme was introduced by the Department for Education in 2020, to provide additional funding to local authorities with significant financial challenges. Cambridgeshire County Council entered the dedicated schools grant safety- valve programme in 2022. Despite receiving supplementary funding, as of March 2024, Cambridgeshire County Council failed to meet the conditions of the safety-valve agreement. The council completed only 5% of EHCPs within the 20-week timeframe, while the average in England is 49%. Across Cambridgeshire County Council, 73% of complaints relating to children and young people were over delays in publishing the EHCPs, issues with the plans themselves and poor communication.

[Sir Mark Hendrick (in the Chair)]

Order. Could I ask the Member speaking to keep his remarks brief and perhaps come to an end? I do not mean instantaneously.

[Ben Obese-Jecty]

Thank you, Sir Mark.

As one of the fastest-growing regions in the country, the funding allocation formulae for Cambridgeshire desperately need to be reviewed. With thousands—potentially tens of thousands—of homes planned to be built in the constituency over the next decade, it is imperative to look at the underlying calculation that currently fails to recognise the demographic challenge that we face in the region.

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[Sir Mark Hendrick (in the Chair)]

Order. Can the hon. Gentleman sit down a second?

[Rupert Lowe]

I have not quite finished, Sir Mark.

[Sir Mark Hendrick (in the Chair)]

I am interrupting you. You do not refer to other Members by their name, but by their constituency or position. Actually, you have taken nearly four minutes now; this is taking time away from others. Could you bring your remarks to a close?

[Rupert Lowe]

I will stop there.

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[Jack Abbott]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The statistics I am reading just scratch the surface. We know there are many more families who have had to make the difficult decision to homeschool their children not out of choice, but out of necessity, because they feel they have no other option.

To finish my point, in state-funded primary schools in Suffolk, fixed-term exclusions were 30 times more likely to go to a child with SEND and an EHCP than to a child without. I should add that our county’s fixed-term exclusions are, once again, some of the highest in the country—an unwanted and shameful record of inaction and indifference. Across all age groups in Suffolk, permanent exclusions are more than six times as likely, and fixed-term exclusions more than five times as likely, to go to a child with SEND.

While I am encouraged by the intentions of the new Government with respect to SEND provision, I join Members present, along with so many others, in reiterating that the challenge is enormous and must not be underestimated. Like families across Ipswich, I know there is no overnight fix for years of failure. What those families expect is a clear, credible plan with measurable defined goals for SEND provision, and not the half-baked, half-hearted SEND review that was finally dished up after much delay by the previous Government.

[Sir Mark Hendrick (in the Chair)]

Order. We are running short of time.

[Jack Abbott]

I am coming to an end. Those families expect Government to work with local authorities, particularly those such as Suffolk county council, to put that into place. It falls to us as part of this new Labour Government to follow through on our promise to do so, working with local authorities and families to make urgent progress. Children who need—

[Sir Mark Hendrick (in the Chair)]

Order. Can the hon. Member take a seat, please? I remind Members that when they refer to Members of this House, they must refer to them as the Member for their constituency or as their position. They must not name Members of Parliament.

[Mr Bayo Alaba (Southend East and Rochford) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Lowestoft (Jess Asato) for arranging this debate. It is great to see so many MPs from the east of England present to discuss such an important issue. It is something that has come up time and again during my time as a youth mentor, school governor and behavioural mentor. My hon. Friend the Member for Ipswich (Jack Abbott) referenced school attendance and the issues around punctuality, which is something that is close to my heart, as I also chair a disciplinary board for a local school.

First, I pay tribute to Raw Learning. I had the pleasure of attending the launch event of a new forest school with Raw Learning last week, which was my second time visiting a forest school. The first time, I did not take the right shoes—I recommend that all Members bring a pair of wellies if they visit a forest school. Raw Learning provides a fantastic service for young people who are not able to conform to traditional learning environments, transforming the lives of young people and their families.

Families should not have to wait more than a year to receive an education, health and care plan. In Southend East and Rochford and across the nation, we have seen a huge increase in demand for EHCPs. It is up to our local authorities to administer EHCPs; by law, the process is supposed to take a maximum of 20 weeks. However, in Southend East and Rochford, 90.4% of decisions took six months or longer. So often it is the children who are most in need who are left out of school while they wait. There are many factors that can exacerbate issues, such as catchment areas, income and social capital.

It is my absolute honour to represent my constituency in Parliament, to debate SEND in the east of England and to be part of Labour’s mission-driven Government. I welcome the fact that inclusion will be at the centre of SEND policy moving forward.

Does the Minister agree that more needs to be done to support families, parents and organisations such as Raw Learning, which so often fill the gap where local authorities are stretched, where mainstream schools do not have the resources to sufficiently support children with SEND in the classroom and where the previous Government failed?

[Sir Mark Hendrick (in the Chair)]

Order. Because of the time taken by Members who have already spoken, we are now down to two minutes per remaining Member.