Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment Ofsted has made of the effectiveness of its anticipatory duty under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments for disabled pupils regarding its pupil survey.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
These are matters for His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver. I have asked him to write to the hon. Member for Meriden and Solihull East, and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what accessible versions of its online pupil survey Ofsted provides for disabled pupils, including versions using symbol-supported text.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
These are matters for His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver. I have asked him to write to the hon. Member for Meriden and Solihull East, and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department plans to take to ensure any revised SEND Code of Practice explicitly mandates the publication of school information on SEND in plain English.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has not made a specific assessment of the merits of commissioning research into the readability of information on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) published by schools. However, responses to our consultation have highlighted the importance of clearer, more accessible and transparent information for children, young people and their families.
As part of our legislative reforms, we propose requiring schools to prepare and publish an Inclusion Strategy which will replace SEN Information Reports. This will strengthen accountability and transparency, and help parents better understand a setting’s offer of inclusive practice and support designed to meet a range of needs.
The revised SEND code of practice will set out how schools should ensure that their Inclusion Strategy is accessible to children, young people and families. This will include using clear and accessible language, explaining technical terms and providing information in alternative formats where necessary.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of commissioning research into the readability of information on SEND that is published by schools.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has not made a specific assessment of the merits of commissioning research into the readability of information on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) published by schools. However, responses to our consultation have highlighted the importance of clearer, more accessible and transparent information for children, young people and their families.
As part of our legislative reforms, we propose requiring schools to prepare and publish an Inclusion Strategy which will replace SEN Information Reports. This will strengthen accountability and transparency, and help parents better understand a setting’s offer of inclusive practice and support designed to meet a range of needs.
The revised SEND code of practice will set out how schools should ensure that their Inclusion Strategy is accessible to children, young people and families. This will include using clear and accessible language, explaining technical terms and providing information in alternative formats where necessary.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department will provide courses on leading SEND aimed at senior and middle leaders who are not SENCos.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government is investing over £200 million in professional development on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and inclusion across schools, colleges and nurseries.
From autumn 2027, new fully funded SEND and inclusion training courses will be available for teachers and leaders. The leaders course will be aimed at a range of senior leader roles and will complement the existing national professional qualification (NPQ) for special educational needs coordinators (SENCOs), which remains the mandatory qualification for new SENCOs.
NPQs are also available to education leaders at all levels, from those with lead responsibility across a subject, year group or school to those leading multiple schools. The current suite of specialist and leadership NPQs includes content on SEND and inclusion. We are reviewing the wider suite of NPQs, with a focus on including further best practice on leading inclusive schools and teaching pupils with SEND.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether Ofsted uses the same pupil survey to collect pupil views in mainstream schools as it does in special schools for children with severe learning difficulties.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
These are matters for His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver. I have asked him to write to the hon. Member for Meriden and Solihull East, and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of termly SEN support reviews on annual reviews for Individual Support Plans.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
At present, information about a child or young person's special educational needs (SEN), support and outcomes is often recorded through a range of locally developed documents and systems, including SEN Support Plans. Approaches to recording and reviewing support vary between settings.
Under the proposals, settings would have a duty to produce an Individual Support Plan (ISP) for children and young people who require Targeted, Targeted Plus or Specialist support. The ISP would provide a nationally consistent framework for recording needs, provision and outcomes.
In our consultation document, we proposed a requirement for ISPs to be reviewed annually at a minimum, and settings will work with parents and young people to develop and maintain the plan from the outset. An ISP is intended to be a digital living product, updated as a child or young person's needs, barriers to learning and support arrangements change and we want settings to retain flexibility to consider changes, working with families, as soon as they are needed. We would provide more detail and guidance on the development and reviews of ISPs as part of an updated Code of Practice.
The department has recently consulted on its proposed special educational needs and disabilities reforms. We are carefully considering all responses and will set out our response in due course.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how frequently Individual Support Plans will be reviewed under proposed SEND reforms.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
At present, information about a child or young person's special educational needs (SEN), support and outcomes is often recorded through a range of locally developed documents and systems, including SEN Support Plans. Approaches to recording and reviewing support vary between settings.
Under the proposals, settings would have a duty to produce an Individual Support Plan (ISP) for children and young people who require Targeted, Targeted Plus or Specialist support. The ISP would provide a nationally consistent framework for recording needs, provision and outcomes.
In our consultation document, we proposed a requirement for ISPs to be reviewed annually at a minimum, and settings will work with parents and young people to develop and maintain the plan from the outset. An ISP is intended to be a digital living product, updated as a child or young person's needs, barriers to learning and support arrangements change and we want settings to retain flexibility to consider changes, working with families, as soon as they are needed. We would provide more detail and guidance on the development and reviews of ISPs as part of an updated Code of Practice.
The department has recently consulted on its proposed special educational needs and disabilities reforms. We are carefully considering all responses and will set out our response in due course.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how frequently SEN Support Plans are reviewed.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
At present, information about a child or young person's special educational needs (SEN), support and outcomes is often recorded through a range of locally developed documents and systems, including SEN Support Plans. Approaches to recording and reviewing support vary between settings.
Under the proposals, settings would have a duty to produce an Individual Support Plan (ISP) for children and young people who require Targeted, Targeted Plus or Specialist support. The ISP would provide a nationally consistent framework for recording needs, provision and outcomes.
In our consultation document, we proposed a requirement for ISPs to be reviewed annually at a minimum, and settings will work with parents and young people to develop and maintain the plan from the outset. An ISP is intended to be a digital living product, updated as a child or young person's needs, barriers to learning and support arrangements change and we want settings to retain flexibility to consider changes, working with families, as soon as they are needed. We would provide more detail and guidance on the development and reviews of ISPs as part of an updated Code of Practice.
The department has recently consulted on its proposed special educational needs and disabilities reforms. We are carefully considering all responses and will set out our response in due course.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the proportion of adults with low literary proficiency.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government recognises that securing good levels of literacy has a positive impact on participation in society, improves earnings and employment opportunities and opens doors to further learning.
The department participates in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s survey for adult skills, Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies last conducted in England and 30 other countries in 2022/23. The results, published in December 2024, show that 18% of 16-65-year-olds have low literacy proficiency in England compared to the OECD average of 26%. England also has the highest average literacy levels amongst English-speaking countries in the survey and the second highest in the G7. More details on the survey are available at: https://www.oecd.org/en/about/programmes/piaac.html.
The government continues to support those who want to improve their literacy skills through the essential skills legal entitlements, funded through the Adult Skills Fund. This enables eligible adults with low literacy skills to undertake a range of fully-funded English courses, including GCSEs and Functional Skills up to level 2.