Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what primary schools in Central Suffolk and North Ipswich constituency offer early intervention support; and what type of support is offered.

Schools, including further education colleges, sixth form colleges and 16 to 19 academies, are required to identify and address the special educational needs (SEN) of the pupils they support and, in the case of mainstream settings, to use their best endeavours to make sure that a child or young person who has SEN gets the support they need. All schools should apply the ‘graduated approach’ that is outlined in the special educational needs and disabilities code of practice, which means identifying a child’s needs, planning appropriate support, implementing that support and reviewing it regularly to ensure it continues to meet the identified needs. Through this, schools should develop personalised approaches to supporting the unique needs of individual pupils.

The department is working as quickly as possible to ensure every child has the best chance in life, by prioritising early intervention and inclusive provision in mainstream settings. We know that early intervention prevents unmet needs from escalating, and that it supports children and young people to achieve their goals alongside their peers. Getting it right in the early years is essential to supporting children’s development, health and life chances. We are currently funding three specific early intervention programmes: the Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools programme, the Early Language and Support for Every Child pathfinders and the Nuffield Early Language Intervention programme.