Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the SEND improvement plan to be published by her Department later this month will be accompanied by an analysis of the additional workforce needed to implement proposals contained within it.

The department knows that children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) frequently require access to additional support from a broad specialist workforce across education, health, and care. The SEND and Alternative Provision (AP) Green Paper published in March 2022, set out proposals to commission analysis to ensure that the needs of children and young people with SEND from the therapeutic and diagnostic workforce are supported through effective workforce planning.

The consultation for the SEND review closed on 22 July 2022. The department is currently reviewing the feedback received and using this, along with continued engagement with the system, to inform the next stage of delivering improvements for children, young people and their families.

The department is committed to publishing a full response to the green paper in an improvement plan early this year. We will continue to support the system in the immediate term to deliver change, improving the experience and outcomes for children and young people with SEND and those who need AP.