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.

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.