Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they expect to publish a white paper on special educational needs provision before the Parliamentary summer recess.

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

The department is aware of the challenges in the current SEND system, and the government is urgently considering how it needs to be reformed. However, these are complex issues which need a considered approach to deliver sustainable change.

The department is working closely with experts on reforms, including appointing a strategic advisor for SEND, who is playing a key role in convening and engaging with the sector, including leaders, practitioners, children and families.

The department has also established an expert advisory group for inclusion to improve the mainstream education outcomes and experiences for children and young people with SEND, and a Neurodivergence Task and Finish Group to provide a shared understanding of what provision and support in mainstream educational settings should look like for neurodivergent children and young people within an inclusive system.

The department is working at pace to address these challenges and will be setting out our plans to do so in due course.