Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the report by the Disabled Children’s Partnership, Then There Was Silence, published on 10 September 2021, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the finding in that report that fewer than four in 10 children with an Education and Health Care Plan attended school between January and March 2021.

We welcome the research from the Disabled Children’s Partnership (DCP). The impact of the lockdown in early 2021 on children and young people with education, health and care plans (EHCP) was reflected in Government policy, including ensuring children with EHCPs were provided with suitable, high quality remote education. Guidance to schools on meeting this duty for children with EHCPs included putting in place reasonable adjustments as necessary, so that pupils and students with SEND could successfully access remote education alongside their peers.

While attendance is now far higher, with approximately 87% of all pupils with an EHCP on roll in state-funded schools in attendance on 16 September 2021[1], we recognise the implications of being out of school for children and young people with SEND who have an EHCP. We have prioritised education recovery funding for specialist settings by providing additional uplifts, recognising the additional costs involved. We have also ensured that settings have the flexibility to target this to meet the needs of their pupils and students. In addition, we continue to work hard to ensure children and young people are given access to therapies and equipment so that the right support is in place for all children and families, including addressing the backlog in assessments.

We continue to work closely with the DCP and monitor to identify the impacts the COVID-19 outbreak has had on children and young people with SEND and the implications for our policies. We also continue to closely monitor attendance rates.

[1] Attendance in education and early years settings during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, Week 38 2021 – Explore education statistics – GOV.UK (explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk)