Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the challenges facing the parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities as outlined in the BBC Panorama programme Fighting for an Education, broadcast on 7 September.

The safety and wellbeing of the most vulnerable children has always been a priority. That is why we kept nurseries, schools and colleges open to those with education, health and care plans, where it was safe to do so, and provided clear guidance on who was eligible to attend.

We understand that this is a challenging time for all parents, but particularly for those whose children have additional needs. As part of our response to the COVID-19 outbreak, we have supported local authorities, education providers and health services to respond to the challenges effectively by providing local authorities with £4.6 billion to meet additional demands, including within children’s services. We are also increasing high needs funding for those with the most complex special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) by £780 million this year, and a further £730 million next year, to help provide the support that parents rightly expect for their children particularly during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Our reforms to the SEND system, in 2014, introduced vital support. In September 2019, we announced the SEND Review to ensure that the SEND system provides consistent, high quality, and integrated support across education, health and care. This cross-government review will look at ways to improve SEND so that young people with additional needs can thrive as they prepare for adulthood. The review will also consider ways of strengthening the accountability system and ensuring that poorer performing local authorities are monitored closely. In addition, we have commissioned the development of a new round of inspections from Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission, which we expect to drive more substantial improvements at a local and national level.