Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that the needs of children with special needs and learning disabilities are being met during the January 2021 covid-19 lockdown in England.

On 7 January 2021, we published guidance to schools on the current national lockdown, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak.

Children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and their families can be disproportionately impacted by being out of education. We therefore set out in the guidance that schools are expected to allow vulnerable children and young people to attend, including those with an Education, Health and Care plan. We want these children and young people to continue to receive high-quality teaching and specialist professional support. The system of protective measures that schools have in place means that any risks associated with attendance are well managed. If a pupil does not attend, we expect the school to provide remote education.

Specialists, therapists, clinicians, and other support staff for pupils with SEND should provide interventions as usual.

We will update the guidance as needed and, as part of this, we will be providing more detailed advice and support for special schools.