The government has asked councils to test a new “local inclusion support offer” to “bridge the gap” between mainstream schools and the SEND system as part of its “reformulated” change programme.
But the fate of some initiatives which were being tested by the programme remains unclear, although it is understood that councils are no longer being asked to digitise education and health care plans (EHCPs).
The change programme was launched in 2023 to test the Conservative government’s SEND reforms. Labour has extended the government’s contract with councils across England to test new initiatives.
The Department for Education is now testing a local inclusion support offer (LISO) while it evaluates the outcomes of previous initiatives. While the LISO appears new, it brings together initiatives already announced by the government which focus on early intervention and support in mainstream schools.
One authority participating in the scheme, Brighton and Hove, wrote in council documents that it anticipates that the LISO will be rolled out for all councils as part of the government’s white paper on SEND.
What is the LISO?
In a recent newsletter, the REACh consortium, which also holds a contract to support the change programme, said the LISO will “prioritise early identification of needs, effective use of specialist resources and delivery of high-quality teaching across early years, primary and secondary settings”.
The offer would be “shaped by local need and context” but consist of three core components of training, advice and direct delivery.
REACh said: “Crucially, the LISO represents a cultural shift towards embedding whole-setting inclusion, ensuring that every setting across the local area has access to high quality, equitable support.”
It follows Labour’s manifesto commitment to take a “community-wide approach” to SEND, improving “inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring that special schools cater to those with the most complex needs”.
What is being tested?
Councils including Gloucestershire, Bradford, Wakefield, Telford, Brighton and Hove and East Sussex have published what areas will be tested under the extended phase of the programme, under the umbrella of the LISO.
This includes creating and expanding SEN units in mainstream schools – a key tenet of Labour’s SEND strategy – as well as developing a three-tiered alternative provision model.
The LISO also involves pilots for earlier support for pupils to overcome speech and language challenges and training to boost teachers’ understanding of SEND in mainstream settings.
East Sussex council documents state that local areas will “create an inclusion support offer that creates or strengthens provision to bridge the gap between mainstream settings and specialist placements and services”.
What’s been dropped?
Previously, the SEND change programme was testing initiatives including developing national standards, strategic partnerships and inclusion plans.
In March 2023, the government said the programme would make EHCPs “digital first”, making the system “quicker and simpler wherever possible”.
Also being tested were tailored lists of schools, a national and local inclusion dashboard and multi-agency panels.
A REACh spokesperson said findings from the first phase of testing were either under consideration or being carried forward by the DfE. The DfE did not respond to requests to confirm which other initiatives have been dropped.
However, the DfE said in July that it had “decided to pause this digital project while we collate a significant amount of information” to support changes outlined by the new government.
This month, advocacy group Special Needs Jungle also reported that the DfE had said it was “no longer commissioning” LAs to standardise EHCP templates, although “some of them may have chosen to continue its use within their local areas”.
The DfE said the template and supporting guidance was “due to be revised” in summer 2024, but this was “never completed due to the change in government”.
The LISO is not being tested as a potential replacement for EHCPs or SEN support, a DfE spokesperson said, and is intended to support mainstream inclusion.
New advisers
The DfE is looking for new SEND advisers for all English regions to help deliver its upcoming reforms.
A tender notice said advisers would be driving an “inclusive mainstream system, with specialist support for children that need it, and improved, efficient and effective local delivery”.
Although SEND advisers are nothing new, wording for the role has changed slightly.
Advisers should “provide tailored advice and support to local authorities and help them improve readiness for and effectively implement the SEND reforms such that they sustainably deliver the best possible outcomes for their children and young people with SEND”, the tender said.
The contracts are still open to bids and will run from November 2025 to March 2029. The DfE said it expects to announce its wider reforms later this year.
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