Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to increase freedoms for special schools to design their own curriculum.

The new national curriculum, to be taught from September 2014, sets out only the essential knowledge that all children should acquire, and leaves teachers to decide how to teach this most effectively and to design a wider school curriculum that best meets the needs of their pupils.

For all pupils with special educational needs (SEN), including those who attend special schools, lessons should be planned to ensure that there are no barriers to achievement. In many cases, such planning will mean that these pupils will be able to study the full national curriculum.

The SEN Code of Practice includes statutory guidance on identifying and supporting pupils with SEN and adapting teaching approaches to ensure they have access to the same opportunities as their peers.