Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department provides to schools on supporting siblings of children with life-threatening or terminal illness; and whether this includes consideration of partnership working with community-based social palliative care services.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department recognises the significant impact that serious or life‑threatening illness can have on children and their families, including siblings. Schools play an important role in supporting pupils through these difficult moments in life through the pastoral care they provide. While the department does not issue specific guidance on supporting siblings of children with life‑threatening or terminal illness, a range of departmental guidance on issues like safeguarding, disabilities, mental health, and wellbeing set expectations that schools should identify and support pupils facing additional challenges, including those arising from family circumstances. Schools are also encouraged to work with relevant local services where appropriate, including health and social care partners, to ensure pupils and families can access the support they need.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of a life-threatening or terminal illness on children’s school attendance, attainment and wellbeing, whether they are the affected child or their sibling.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department recognises that a life‑threatening or terminal illness can have a significant impact on children’s attendance, attainment and wellbeing, both for those directly affected and for their siblings.
The department does not hold specific data on the impact of such illnesses on pupils’ attendance, attainment or wellbeing. However, we are clear that children whose education is affected by health needs or family circumstances should receive appropriate support to remain engaged in learning.
The statutory guidance ‘Arranging education for children who cannot attend school because of health needs’ is clear that local authorities must arrange suitable education for children of compulsory school age who cannot attend school due to ill health. Schools are also expected to provide pastoral support, make reasonable adjustments, and support pupils’ mental health and wellbeing. This includes a holistic approach to supporting pupils affected by the serious illness of a family member, including siblings. The full guidance is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/657995f0254aaa000d050bff/Arranging_education_for_children_who_cannot_attend_school_because_of_health_needs.pdf.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will include Previously Looked After Children in the definition of disadvantaged children, in regard to the core eligibility criteria for the Holiday Activity and Food programme.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme provides free nutritious meals, enriching activities, and safe environments to eligible children during the school holidays, benefiting their health, wellbeing and readiness to learn. The core purpose of the programme is to support children and young people who are eligible for free school meals (FSM) given that children from low-income households are more likely to experience food insecurity, reduced physical activity, and fewer opportunities for enriching experiences during the school holidays.
Local authorities have discretion to allocate 15% of their funding to provide free or subsidised holiday club places for school-age children who do not meet the eligibility criteria but who the local authority believe could benefit from HAF.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of proposed SEND reforms on care-experienced children whose needs arise from early trauma and attachment disruption, particularly where those needs span education, health and social care and may not meet the highest threshold within any single category.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Care-experienced children will benefit from our special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms and vision to create a more inclusive education system. A strengthened universal offer, grounded in high‑quality adaptive teaching and earlier support, will enable additional needs to be identified and met more quickly. For children with SEND, our £1.8 billion ‘Experts at Hand’ service will give settings access to specialist input earlier, even where needs may be masked by trauma, and individual support plans will help ensure those working with children understand their needs and how best to support them. For those with the most complex needs, education, health and care plans will remain in place, underpinned by strengthened specialist provision packages that make expectations clear and consistent across the system.
Every local authority must appoint a Virtual School Head (VSH), who has a statutory duty to promote the educational attainment of the children in their care. Looked-after children also have highest priority for school admissions and attract Pupil Premium Plus of £2,690 per child, up to age 16.
And for the first time under their new framework, Ofsted now assesses all settings for inclusion. Collectively, these reforms seek to ensure all children who can achieve and thrive in mainstream education will be supported to do so, and children and young people who need specialist support will receive it promptly and with dignity, clarity and care. The consultation for these reforms is underway and we encourage anyone with views, including on how reforms will affect care-experienced children, to participate.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether independent oversight mechanisms will apply to Individual Support Plans under the proposed SEND reforms; and whether families will be able to challenge the adequacy of provision where detailed support is no longer contained within an Education, Health and Care Plan.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
There will be a legal duty on settings to produce an Individual Support Plan (ISP) for every child or young person receiving targeted or specialist support, ensuring help keeps pace with their development, prevents challenges from escalating, and reduces the risk of them disengaging from learning.
Where there are concerns about provision, parents and young people will be able to resolve this directly with the setting using schools’ improved complaints systems. The school complaints system will be strengthened by having clearer processes, reduced duplication, and the inclusion of an appropriate, independent special educational needs and disabilities specialist in the final stage panel.
The use and quality of ISPs will also be considered in Ofsted inspections, and the department will also work with parent groups and experts to explore how a second opinion could give families extra confidence that their child’s plan is right and being delivered well. We also expect governors will sample ISPs.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will set out the requirements councils must meet to be eligible for the write-off of 90% of their historic SEND-related deficits.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
As set out in the final Local Government Finance Settlement, all local authorities with a special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) related High Needs deficit will be eligible in 2026/27 to receive a High Needs Stability Grant that will cover 90% of their accumulated High Needs‑related DSG deficit up to the end of 2025/26. This is conditional on each local authority securing my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education’s approval of their Local SEND Reform Plan, as confirmed in the government’s announcement on managing accumulated SEND deficits.
Each local area will be required to set out credible and deliverable actions that support a more inclusive and financially sustainable system, consistent with the vision for earlier intervention, stronger mainstream inclusion and improved outcomes for children and young people as set out in the Schools White Paper.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what statutory time limits will apply when SEND Tribunals quash local authority decisions under the proposed Specialist Provision Package framework; and what safeguards will be put in place to prevent cycles of reconsideration impacting on provision.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government set out its proposals for reforming the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) Tribunal in its ‘SEND Reform: Putting Children and Young People First’ consultation document.
The department proposes that the SEND Tribunal will make binding judgments on local authority decisions to not undertake an education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment, whether a child or young person meets the threshold for a specialist provision package or whether the package(s) offered is suitable. The Tribunal will also consider whether a local authority’s decision about the placement named in an EHC plan is reasonable and, if they find against the local authority, it will have the power to require the decision to be retaken.
The SEND reform proposals are subject to consultation and further details will be set out in the government’s response to the consultation.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of additional powers for Ofsted to respond in cases where a school's SEN information report is not written in straightforward language that is accessible to young people and parents.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Ofsted’s school inspection toolkit makes clear that inspectors will consider the extent to which special educational needs (SEN) information reports are easily accessible when gathering evidence about special education needs and disabilities (SEND).
As set out in our proposals for SEND reform, schools will be required to detail the support they provide through a new duty to produce an inclusion strategy. This will ultimately replace the current duty to produce SEN information reports. Schools will be required to ensure this report is easily accessible, so that parents and local partners can understand how inclusion is being delivered.
Through its inspection framework, Ofsted will assess how leaders ensure the inclusion strategy is embedded in practice, and how staff are equipped to deliver it.
We have proposed the creation of new National Inclusion Standards for the first time, based on evidence, to inform best practice in identifying barriers and meeting needs. We will work with Ofsted to ensure that these standards inform its inspections in the future.
The consultation for these reforms is underway and we would encourage anyone with views on SEN information reports or our inclusion strategy proposals to participate.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what powers Ofsted have to respond where a school's SEN information report is not written in straightforward language that is accessible to young people and parents.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Ofsted’s school inspection toolkit makes clear that inspectors will consider the extent to which special educational needs (SEN) information reports are easily accessible when gathering evidence about special education needs and disabilities (SEND).
As set out in our proposals for SEND reform, schools will be required to detail the support they provide through a new duty to produce an inclusion strategy. This will ultimately replace the current duty to produce SEN information reports. Schools will be required to ensure this report is easily accessible, so that parents and local partners can understand how inclusion is being delivered.
Through its inspection framework, Ofsted will assess how leaders ensure the inclusion strategy is embedded in practice, and how staff are equipped to deliver it.
We have proposed the creation of new National Inclusion Standards for the first time, based on evidence, to inform best practice in identifying barriers and meeting needs. We will work with Ofsted to ensure that these standards inform its inspections in the future.
The consultation for these reforms is underway and we would encourage anyone with views on SEN information reports or our inclusion strategy proposals to participate.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what powers does she have to help ensure schools comply with (a) paragraph 6.81 of the SEN Code of Practice and (b) Equality Act 2010.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Children and Families Act 2014 and SEND regulations set out the detail that schools must include in special educational needs (SEN) information reports. The SEND Code of Practice states that schools should ensure that the information is easily accessible by young people and parents, and is set out in clear, straightforward language.
The Ofsted inspection toolkit states that, in gathering evidence about supporting pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), inspectors must consider the extent to which published SEN information reports are easily accessible and accurately describe the school’s provision and support for pupils with SEN.
The department has published guidance to help schools understand their legal duties under the Equality Act 2010: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7e3237ed915d74e33f0ac9/Equality_Act_Advice_Final.pdf.
The department has also issued further guidance to help support school governing boards understand their roles and responsibilities, accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sen-and-disability-duties-guidance-for-school-governing-boards/special-educational-needs-sen-and-disabilities-guidance-for-school-governing-boards.
There are a range of resources available to school leaders and governors to support in the creation of accessible SEN Information Reports.
We will set out our proposals for SEND reform in the upcoming Schools White Paper and will consult widely on these proposals, continuing to work with a wide range of partners to refine and deliver them.