special educational needs and disabilities

Sector ‘in limbo’ as third SEND review deadline passes

The government has failed to meet its third deadline to publish the long-delayed SEND review, leaving the sector “in limbo” again. Gavin Williamson, the education secretary, promised the landmark review in September 2019, following mounting concerns of a “postcode lottery” of special needs support in England. But nearly two years on and no review has […]

Exams 2021: 300,000 students could face ‘unfair’ grading, warn disability groups

Hundreds of thousands of pupils could face “unfair” exams grading this summer if their accessibility needs are not properly taken into account, disability organisations have warned. The National Deaf Children’s Society, Royal National Institute of Blind People, the Professional Association of the Vision Impairment Education Workforce and the British Association of Teachers of the Deaf […]

SEND heroes recognised in 2021 New Year’s honours

Professionals who go above and beyond the call of duty to support pupils with special educational needs and disabilities have been recognised in the 2021 New Year’s honours list. Those recognised for their services to SEND children represent around one in four of the people with links to the English schools system awarded gongs in […]

SEND pupils told schools ‘can’t accommodate them’, claims Spielman

Schools have been telling parents they can’t accommodate pupils with special educational needs and disabilities during the coronavirus pandemic, Amanda Spielman has claimed. The chief inspector of schools told the National Children and Adult Services Conference this morning that children had been “left without access to therapy and education for months”. They’ve been told that […]

SEND rules back to normal from September (but prepare for local relaxations)

The government will end nationwide relaxations over providing support for SEND pupils for September – but it will still consider easing requirements at local level. July marks the third month since the government began relaxing the duty of councils to provide support for SEND pupils during the coronavirus outbreak, to which they face a legal […]

DfE reports 10% rise in number of EHC plans

The number of pupils with education, health and care plans increased by 10 per cent in the past year, the Department for Education has said. The latest data shows there were 390,109 pupils with an EHC plan as of January 2020, up from 353,995 at the same point in 2019. However, at the same time, […]

DfE’s SEND review must address ‘significant failings’, says Public Accounts Committee

The government’s review of provision for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities must result in “concrete action” to address “significant failings”, an influential committee of MPs has said. An inquiry by the parliamentary public accounts committee found that the education, wellbeing and life-chances of pupils with SEND are being damaged by the government’s failure […]

Public accounts committee SEND inquiry report: Six things the DfE should do

The parliamentary public accounts committee has published a damning report on the support for children with special educational needs and disabilities. The report warns many pupils with SEND are not getting the support they need, and calls for swift action from government to right this injustice. Here are the committee’s six recommendations for the Department […]

Practise what you preach on SEND, Ofsted told

A literacy charity has praised Ofsted for its “unprecedented” intervention on behalf of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities – but warned that its words “must be turned into action”. In its annual report published on Tuesday, the inspectorate was critical of the high exclusion rates of SEND pupils in mainstream schools, refusals by […]