Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the process was for (a) establishing the terms of reference and (b) recruiting members for the National SEND Reference Group; and who participated in that process.

The National SEND Reference Group is an external body, organised and managed by the National Association for Special Educational Needs (nasen). It was set up in April 2020 so that special schools, colleges and alternative provision could report experiences and issues arising from COVID-19 to the department. Officials attend the group’s meetings as part of wider stakeholder engagement. In establishing the group, nasen invited a range of system leaders intended to represent the breadth and diversity of the specialist sector, including across the regions and settings serving different pupil populations.