Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the accessibility of the SEND reform consultation process for families with caring responsibilities, disability, literacy barriers or limited time to engage with technical documentation; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure that responses received are representative of the families most affected by the proposed reforms.

The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) National Conversation engaged over 8,000 people to shape SEND reform proposals ahead of formal consultation.

The SEND consultation document, published on 23 February 2026, was available in multiple formats, including print-ready, web-accessible and large print versions, as well as an Easy Read version, a children and young people’s version, and a British Sign Language version. Braille and 20-point large print versions were also available on request.

Formal consultation ran for 12 weeks until 18 May 2026. Respondents could submit views online via 39 open ended questions or a shorter set of 12 Easy Read questions. Respondents could also submit a response in any format by post or by email.

Alongside this, the department held over 200 engagement events to ensure families affected by the reforms were able to give their views on the proposed changes to the system. This included 9 regional events and 5 online events in partnership with the Council for the Disabled Children (CDC), as well as 26 youth engagement events led by CDC. Ministers held deep dives on key topics, roundtables, and workshops to broaden participation further.

The department is now analysing the consultation responses, which will inform the next phase of policy development.