Ruth Cadbury
Main Page: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)Department Debates - View all Ruth Cadbury's debates with the Department for Education
(1 month, 1 week ago)
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Georgia Gould
The Government will be setting national standards for all schools, including multi-academy trusts. National inclusion standards will be developed by an independent expert panel and all schools will need to ensure they are delivered. We are also introducing new inspections for multi-academy trusts that will focus on a range of levers, including the importance of inclusion in education. Through our focus on area partnerships, we are really clear that every player, whether schools, health services or local authorities, needs to work together to deliver for children.
Ruth Cadbury (Brentford and Isleworth) (Lab)
Special needs specialists in schools in my constituency have raised with me their concerns about the shortage of educational psychologists. A mum of a profoundly disabled child, who I met on Saturday, raised concerns about the shortage of occupational therapists. What are the Government doing to address the additional needs of that specific group of people?
Georgia Gould
I really appreciate that question. Making educational psychologists, occupational therapists and speech and language therapists far more accessible for students in mainstream education is at the heart of our reforms. We are investing £1.8 billion in the new Experts at Hand service, which will start from September. As part of that, we are also investing £40 million into training new educational psychologists and speech and language therapists, developing the workforce to ensure that all children have access to an inclusive education.