Asked by: Michelle Scrogham (Labour - Barrow and Furness)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that teacher training and continuing professional development programmes include awareness of the specific needs of the children of armed forces personnel, particularly those with special educational needs and disabilities.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
As part of our consultation on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms, I attended a roundtable hosted by the Armed Forces Community All-Party Parliamentary Group, to hear first-hand from armed forces families about the challenges they face.
The ‘Every Child Achieving and Thriving’ White Paper set out proposals for a package of professional development on SEND, backed by over £200 million of funding.
This includes a new requirement in the SEND Code of Practice that will ensure all mainstream staff receive high‑quality SEND and inclusion training.
We have reformed the Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework to include more content on adaptive teaching. From 2027, teaching staff can sign up to new courses that enhance their knowledge of adaptive teaching styles to meet the special educational needs of a wide range of pupils, which could include those from armed forces’ families.
We are investing around £1.8 billion over the next three years for local area partnerships, including local authorities and integrated care boards, to develop a new ‘Experts at Hand’ offer, strengthening mainstream education through access to health and specialist education support.
Asked by: Michelle Scrogham (Labour - Barrow and Furness)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the impact of local authority assessment delays on service children with special educational needs and disabilities who relocate frequently due to Armed Forces postings; and what steps she is taking to ensure continuity of support in such cases.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department recognises that Armed Forces life may present particular challenges for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). As part of our consultation on SEND reforms, I attended a roundtable hosted by the Armed Forces Community All-Party Parliamentary Group to hear first-hand from armed forces families about these challenges.
In our consultation we included proposals for new National Inclusion Standards, setting out support that should be available in every mainstream setting. We also proposed a nationally consistent set of Specialist Provision Packages to provide comprehensive, evidence-based support for children and young people with the most complex needs, underpinning education, health and care (EHC) plans to help end the postcode lottery in support. Additionally, EHC plans and new Individual Support Plans will be digital, which will support service children by facilitating smoother transitions and improved information sharing when they move between schools or local authorities. We will confirm our intentions over reform in the light of consultation responses.
The SEND Code of Practice currently provides guidance on how to best support these children. For example, local authorities should use all relevant evidence when considering provision, including evidence of the support given during the previous posting. We will update the Code of Practice as part of the SEND reforms, including strengthening the material on supporting service children.
Asked by: Michelle Scrogham (Labour - Barrow and Furness)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department provides to local authorities on recognising existing diagnoses and statutory support plans for armed forces families with special educational needs and disabilities when families move to a new area.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department recognises that Armed Forces life may present particular challenges for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). As part of our consultation on SEND reforms, I attended a roundtable hosted by the Armed Forces Community All-Party Parliamentary Group to hear first-hand from armed forces families about these challenges.
In our consultation we included proposals for new National Inclusion Standards, setting out support that should be available in every mainstream setting. We also proposed a nationally consistent set of Specialist Provision Packages to provide comprehensive, evidence-based support for children and young people with the most complex needs, underpinning education, health and care (EHC) plans to help end the postcode lottery in support. Additionally, EHC plans and new Individual Support Plans will be digital, which will support service children by facilitating smoother transitions and improved information sharing when they move between schools or local authorities. We will confirm our intentions over reform in the light of consultation responses.
The SEND Code of Practice currently provides guidance on how to best support these children. For example, local authorities should use all relevant evidence when considering provision, including evidence of the support given during the previous posting. We will update the Code of Practice as part of the SEND reforms, including strengthening the material on supporting service children.
Asked by: Michelle Scrogham (Labour - Barrow and Furness)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve the portability of Education, Health and Care Plans for service children with special educational needs and disabilities when families move between local authority areas.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department recognises that Armed Forces life may present particular challenges for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). As part of our consultation on SEND reforms, I attended a roundtable hosted by the Armed Forces Community All-Party Parliamentary Group to hear first-hand from armed forces families about these challenges.
In our consultation we included proposals for new National Inclusion Standards, setting out support that should be available in every mainstream setting. We also proposed a nationally consistent set of Specialist Provision Packages to provide comprehensive, evidence-based support for children and young people with the most complex needs, underpinning education, health and care (EHC) plans to help end the postcode lottery in support. Additionally, EHC plans and new Individual Support Plans will be digital, which will support service children by facilitating smoother transitions and improved information sharing when they move between schools or local authorities. We will confirm our intentions over reform in the light of consultation responses.
The SEND Code of Practice currently provides guidance on how to best support these children. For example, local authorities should use all relevant evidence when considering provision, including evidence of the support given during the previous posting. We will update the Code of Practice as part of the SEND reforms, including strengthening the material on supporting service children.
Asked by: Michelle Scrogham (Labour - Barrow and Furness)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the roll out of Best Start Family Hubs in the Westmorland and Furness local authority area; and what timescales are expected for delivery.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
All local authorities, including Westmoreland and Furness, completed a Best Start in Life readiness survey in January 2026. In this survey, Westmorland and Furness indicated that they expected four Best Start Family Hubs to be established across the Barrow-in-Furness, South Lakeland, and Eden localities from April 2026, with a possible expansion to 15 hubs by March 2029. We expect the local authority to set out further detail on these planned hubs, including which may become network sites, in the Best Start Family Hub Delivery Plan, due in mid June.
The department works closely with local authorities to monitor implementation and ensure they are meeting programme expectations. Each local authority has a named contact responsible for overseeing delivery, and the department intends to work in close partnership with local authorities to review progress, share effective practice, and ensure areas are appropriately supported to drive improvements for children and families.