Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of special provisions in the Behaviour Hubs programme for pupils with ADHD and other neurodiverse conditions.

The behaviour hubs programme is designed to support the development and implementation of positive whole-school behaviour cultures which benefit all children, including those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and other neurodiverse conditions.

The behaviour hubs programme pairs lead schools and multi academy trusts (MATs) that have exemplary behaviour practices with partner schools or MATs who want and need to improve pupil behaviour.

Lead schools and MATs have been selected from across the school sector, and include primary, secondary, alternative provision, special schools and MATs. This provides partner schools and MATs with access to good practice across different types of provision, including specialist provision. Experienced senior leaders and executive teams that have implemented strong, positive behaviour cultures within their schools will be able to support the specific challenges that a partner school is facing, including those relating to pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

All schools on the programme have access to training on specific issues, common problems, and effective approaches led by expert advisers that can be implemented in their school context. Training modules have been developed and reviewed by experts from across the school sector. The training includes a mandatory module on SEND, which covers how to ensure behaviour policies and practices are inclusive and take reasonable adjustments into account, including any adjustments required for those who are neurodiverse.

The programme is designed and delivered by the Department’s taskforce of behaviour advisers. The behaviour advisers bring experience from across the school sector, including alternative provision and special schools, providing broad representation of all schools and their specific needs, including SEND.

The Department has procured an independent evaluator to assess the effectiveness of the programme. Where possible, analysis from all components of the evaluation will seek to provide insights by school type (such as secondary, alternative provision and special schools) and characteristics of the schools and the pupils at those schools (for example the proportion of pupils with SEND or eligible for free school meals).