Earlier today Tuesday 29 November, NNPCF Co-chair Mrunal Sisodia spoke with Minister Clare Coutinho about the plans for the DfE response to the SEND and Alternative Provision Green Paper. The Minister informed Mrunal that the Department’s response will not be published before Christmas as originally planned. Instead, they are targeting publication for early in the new year – no specific timeline for this has been agreed.
The delay was resulting from the recent Ministerial changes in government and the desire of the new Ministers to get to grips with the agenda and to allow sufficient time to engage with parent carers.
We received the following update from the DfE;
Today the Department for Education (DfE) has published a letter from the Rt Hon Gillian Keegan MP, Secretary of State for Education, sent to those working across the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) sector.
In the letter, the minister clarifies her commitment to improve the experiences of children and young people with SEND or in AP, within a fairer, more inclusive, and sustainable system across education, health and care.
She sets out plans for publishing a response to the SEND Review consultation, working alongside the new ministerial team to understand the extensive feedback, before publishing a full response, in the form of an improvement plan early in the new year.
Ahead of the improvement plan being published, the Education Secretary has confirmed that children and young people with SEND will benefit from wellbeing and technology support straight away, with new funding announced for educational psychologists and assistive technology. This money will continue to support the system to deliver change and continue to improve the outcomes and experiences of children and young people with SEND and those who need alternative provision.
You can find a link to the communications from the Department for Education here which includes a letter from Gillian Keegan, the Secretary of State for Education.