Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether all children with special educational needs and disabilities will have additional tutor support for the 2021-22 academic year in response to missed schooling over the last 12 months.

We are committed to helping all pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), to make up learning lost as a result of COVID-19.

We have made available £1.7 billion in funding to support education recovery. In June 2020, we announced a £1 billion catch-up package, including a National Tutoring Programme and a Catch-up Premium, for this academic year. In February 2021, we committed to further funding of £700 million for summer schools, expansion of our tutoring programmes and a Recovery Premium for the next academic year. Funding will support pupils across early years settings, schools and providers of 16-19 education.

Both special schools and alternative provision will be able to access funding to provide for summer schools and access the National Tutoring Programme. Eligible pupils in special schools, special units in mainstream primary and secondary schools and alternative provision settings will attract a higher rate of funding for summer schools. We have also consistently prioritised children who attend specialist settings by providing additional uplifts both in the 2020 Catch-up Premium and in the 2021 Recovery Premium funding.

In addition to summer schools, a broader programme of summer enrichment activities, including the Holiday Activities and Food programme, will be running to support children and young people and their families.

We want children to enjoy the school holidays and to access fun, enriching experiences and to eat nutritious meals. That is why we are investing up to £220 million in the Holiday Activities and Food programme, which has been expanded to every local authority across England this year.

Children eligible for benefits-related free school meals will have the option to join a holiday club programme that provides healthy food and enriching activities during the summer in 2021, giving these young people opportunities that they might otherwise lose out on. It is our clear expectation that all local authority co-ordinators will ensure that their provision is fully accessible and that children with SEND can access appropriate provision.

Young people with SEND aged 19 to 24 who have an education, health and care plan will be eligible for support via the 16 to 19 Tuition Fund, where they meet the fund criteria. Providers are asked to have regard to the needs of students with SEND when prioritising students that would benefit most for small group tuition. Furthermore, the proposals to support early language and literacy catch up will benefit all children, including those with SEND.

The department has made £4.84 million available for Oak National Academy both for the summer term of the 2019-20 academic year, and then for the 2020-21 academic year, to provide video lessons in a broad range of subjects for Reception up to year 11. This includes specialist content for pupils with SEND. The Oak National Academy’s resources will continue to be available for free throughout the summer term and summer holidays.

We are committed to ensuring that the National Tutoring Programme is as inclusive as possible. When selecting Tuition Partners for this academic year, we worked with the Education Endowment Foundation to ensure that they have had the relevant experience of working with children who have SEND in both mainstream and specialist settings. We have 26 providers that are able to support students with SEND, and 17 of these also able to support students in special school settings.

We are currently progressing the procurement process for the supplier of the programme for next academic year. Once appointed, we expect the supplier to work with potential Tuition Partners to ensure the programme offers appropriate provision for children with SEND.