Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that reforms to the special educational needs and disabilities system in England take account of the needs of children from armed forces families with additional needs.

As part of the consultation on the government’s special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms, I recently attended a roundtable hosted by the Armed Forces Community All-Party Parliamentary Group, to hear first-hand from armed forces families about the problems they face.

The government’s proposed SEND reforms will better support children from mobile families. For example, education, health and care plans and new Individual Support Plans will be digital, which will support smoother transitions when service children move between schools or local authorities.

National Inclusion Standards will set out support available in every mainstream setting, and a nationally consistent set of Specialist Provision Packages will provide comprehensive, evidence-based packages of support for children and young people with the most complex needs.

Schools receive targeted funding through the Service Pupil Premium, with over £26 million allocated in 2026/27. Schools can use this funding flexibly to provide pastoral, academic and transition support to mitigate effects of mobility and parental deployment, supported by joint Department for Education and Ministry of Defence guidance.