Councils have been told to honour the Armed Forces Covenant – pledging fair treatment for military families – amid “frequent” cases of service children left without a school place because of SEND failings.
One MP even said a council delay in issuing an education, health and care plan (EHCP) for a service child in his constituency was causing “serious operational problems for the armed forces”.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) wrote to local authorities earlier this year, it has emerged, to raise how children with complex needs were “frequently” unable to find a school after a service-related move.
Military families sometimes must relocate every two to three years when the serving parent’s posting changes.
Laurence Turner, the Labour MP for Birmingham Northfield, said: “‘The admission of widespread delays is yet more proof that SEND reform is urgently needed, and I hope that the specific needs of service families is taken into account.”
Being without a school place ‘a frequent scenario’
The MoD “advisory note”, sent in February, highlighted to councils their legal duties towards service children under both the SEND code of practice and the Armed Forces Covenant. About 36,000 military children in the UK may have SEND.
It warned “being without a school place following a service-related move is a frequent scenario faced by service pupils with more complex needs”.
This was often due to councils adopting EHCPs on “the day pupils arrive in their new local authority area”.
While this could happen to any child moving area, the note says service children “have a greater likelihood of doing this more than once, thereby generating a cumulative effect”.
Councils were called on to “ensure adequate planning and preparations are made prior to the arrival of armed forces children”, including completing consultations with schools beforehand.
This is already done by 19 councils with large numbers of service children who are part of MODLAP, a group chaired and overseen by the MoD
It suggested seven recommendations based on its own “SEND principles” to help councils “meet the unique needs of service children with SEND”.
Pupils leaving areas ‘with non-finalised EHCPs’
The note also said councils involved in MODLAP have “recognised the too frequent instances” of service pupils with SEND “leaving LA areas with non-finalised EHCPs”.
A submission by the RAF Families Federation to the education committee’s SEND inquiry cited a case where, despite being given six months’ notice, one council did not look at a placement until the child arrived.
To mitigate this, MODLAP councils have agreed to honour the assessments for EHCPs from other member councils, including transferring plans that are not yet finalised.
Turner added: “The reality is that armed forces personnel and defence resources are being tied up with exactly the same kinds of problems that are all too familiar to other families.
“I know from my own constituency casework that EHCP delays can cause serious operational problems for the armed forces.”
The MP said he was unable to give details of the ongoing case, but he intended to raise it with the armed forces minister.
Collette Musgrave, the chief executive of the Army Families Federation, added the “consequences” of such cases “can be quite severe”.
She said some families who put their children in private schools instead have been whacked by higher fees after the government applied VAT to fees.
MP demands info on resources
The SEND code of practice states bodies with statutory responsibilities for service children with SEND “should ensure the impact of their policies … does not disadvantage such children because of their service-related lifestyle”.
But Musgrave said the government’s desire to reinvigorate the Armed Forces Covenant needs “actual levers to compel people to do this”.
Turner is also demanding to know “the full scale of the resources that are being devoted to mitigate wider failings in the SEND system”.
A parliament question he submitted revealed the MoD runs its own education advisory team, staffed with SEND specialists, to help military families navigate the system.
It has distributed £1.4 million this year to schools and councils to support pupils and has commissioned research into how service life affects educational opportunities and outcomes, including during transitions to new areas. Findings will help improve provision.
Amanda Hopgood, chair of the Local Government Association’s children, young people and families committee, said the SEND system is “not working … that’s why we are calling for reform”.
Just goes to show that it’s the system that needs overhaul and accountability as opposed to targeting parents for its failures. The state doesn’t know how how to run an effective business that meets its customers needs and the current labour government won’t remove the situation as they have little knowledge or experience of
Private business. They also don’t listen! Something that has been advocated within their own party.