Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of providing early intervention services on the number of children that require EHCPs.

The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan, published March 2023, set out the department’s plans to deliver an inclusive system with improved, high-quality mainstream provision where children and young people have their needs identified early and can access prompt, evidence-based, targeted support. This will mean that more children and young people can have their needs met, without the need to rely on an Education, Health and Care plan to get the support they need. Our plan includes testing approaches to early intervention services through, for example, a Speech, Language and Communication Needs pilot, the Early Language Support for Every Child, co-funded with NHS England.