Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure the ongoing needs of SEND pupils are being met in Wansbeck constituency.

The COVID-19 outbreak has been extremely challenging for many families of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The department’s SEND and NHS England advisers continue to work with Northumberland County Council to support young people and families in Wansbeck and across the local area.

Supporting SEND pupils continues to be a priority for this government, and their wellbeing has been central to our response throughout the COVID-19 outbreak.

That is why we:

• Asked schools to stay open to pupils with Education, Health and Care Plans where it was determined that their needs could be as safely or more safely met in the educational environment.
• Published comprehensive guidance throughout the COVID-19 oubreak, including for full opening of all schools in July, with separate guidance on specialist settings. This guidance was updated in September.
• Supported online educational resources, including specifically for children with SEND.
• Are providing £37.3 million for the Family Fund this year to help over 75,000 families raising children with disabilities or serious illnesses. This includes including £10 million specifically in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
• Have started a programme of visits by Ofsted and The Care Quality Commission working with local areas to understand the experiences of children and young people with SEND and their families during the COVID-19 outbreak, and to support local areas to prioritise and meet their needs.

We have announced a major investment in education, including an additional £730 million into high needs next year, coming on top of the additional £780 million in the 2020-21 financial year, which means high needs budgets will have grown by over £1.5 billion, nearly a quarter, in just two years.

Northumberland’s provisional high needs funding allocation for the 2021-22 financial year will be £40.5 million, an 11.1% per head increase on the amount of high needs funding allocated in the 2020-21 financial year. The provisional high needs funding allocations for every local authority can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-funding-formula-tables-for-schools-and-high-needs-2021-to-2022.

The SEND Review remains a major priority for the government and we are considering improvements to make sure the SEND system is consistent, high quality, and integrated across education, health and care, to establish a sustainable system for the future.