Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that children with additional needs and without an Education, Health and Care Plan receive adequate SEN support in schools; and whether she plans to increase (a) funding and (b) access to specialist support to improve inclusive mainstream education.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.

Under the Children and Families Act 2014, mainstream schools must use their best endeavours to make sure a child or young person who has special educational needs (SEN), receives the support they need. The SEND code of practice is clear that meeting the needs of a child with SEN does not require a diagnostic label or test. Instead, we expect teachers to monitor the progress of all pupils and put support in place where needed.

We are committed to improving expertise and inclusivity in mainstream schools.

This includes building a robust and credible evidence base on what works to drive inclusive education. To support this, an Expert Advisory Group for inclusion has been established, led by Tom Rees, that consists of experts across the SEND sector.

Following the 2024 Autumn Budget, the department is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year. This brings total high needs funding for children and young people with complex SEND, including those in mainstream schools, to over £12 billion. Of that total, Leicester City Council is being allocated over £88 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), an increase of £6.6 million on the 2024/25 DSG high needs block, calculated using the high needs national funding formula.