Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what consideration her Department has given to using SEND resources to fund increased staffing and provision at mainstream schools; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of doing so on the number of children who would remain in mainstream education.

The department is committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, ensuring teachers have the tools to better identify and support children before unmet needs escalate, as well as ensuring specialist special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and alternative provision schools cater to those with the most complex needs.

On 12 December, the government announced a £3 billion investment to deliver around 50,000 specialist places for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. The funding will be distributed to local authorities for them to spend on new places in mainstream settings (including SEN units), on adaptations to mainstream settings to make them more inclusive, or on special schools where required.

We will bring forward a full Schools White Paper in the new year, underpinned by our belief that high standards and inclusion are two sides of the same coin.