Phillipson hints at wider SEND reforms

Education secretary Bridget Phillipson has hinted at a wider shake-up to the broken system for pupils with special educational needs, saying “we need to have a conversation about how we look to reform the system overall”.

Government is trialling reforms outlined in the long-awaited SEND review, which the Labour party has inherited after taking office earlier this year.

Ministers have faced questions about whether they will commit to those reforms.

‘Look at overall SEND system reform’

Speaking today at a Labour conference fringe event, Phillipson said the “bigger question, the conversation, I think, we need to have as a country is: ‘is the system that we have right now working?’

“Is this the system that we would start from, the system that we would design if we wanted to make sure that we had early identification of need, and the right level of support put in place as quickly as possible that I think we have to take our time to get right?

“I appreciate the really difficult situation facing so many children and families at the moment, not least the adversarial system that so many encounter.

“But I think we need to have a conversation about how we look to reform the system overall.”

The comments are the strongest yet from ministers that they are eyeing wider reforms to the system.

‘Carefully considering entire SEND approach’

The government has told Schools Week it is “currently carefully considering its entire approach to SEND and AP and will set out next steps in due course”.

This includes the controversial ‘safety valve’ and ‘delivering better value’ programmes, where councils are given government bailouts in exchange for cutting their SEND spend.

However, it is understood officials “do not anticipate any immediate changes for councils currently participating in either programme”.

Speaking at the conference, in Liverpool, Phillipson added: “I have to be upfront. I don’t think that will be quick or easy. I’m not sure it should be quick.

“There are some changes I want to make more rapidly, and I’ll be saying more about that soon, but the longer-term process of change that we need has to involve conversations with parents, with charities and organisations working with children.”

She pointed to changes already made, such as moving the SEND policy areas from its families to schools directorate.

But she also highlighted a “really big need to support the workforce around much of this, both on the teaching side, but also support staff too, who often are doing much of the key work to support our children and young people.”

Schools Week revealed a new teaching apprenticeship is due to be signed off to train support staff specifically on SEND.

DfE ‘looking at’ inclusive workforce

Helen Hayes, the new education select committee chair, speaking at a separate event, said government is “right to start with inclusivity of the mainstream as the kind of first step on the road to reform at the same system”.

However she believed it “very unlikely that the government is going to have the appetite for wholesale reform” of the SEND system. “It has very, very many things to fix, and it can get completely bogged down in long term, complicated reforms, when actually we know where the pressure points are within the system, and you know some of the areas that need to change.”

Meanwhile, Catherine McKinnell, the schools minister, said she is also looking at the inclusivity of the education workforce.

“We’re very focused on creating an inclusive education system that ensures every child thrives… we need to ensure that our workforce is the same”.

It is something she’s “looking at. I’m very keen that we do everything we can to break down barriers to teaching, as much as break down the barriers to opportunity for every young person.

“Being able to be part of a vibrant, valued, professionalized teaching workforce has to be a key part of that as well.”