Recommendations & Conclusions
26 items
1
Conclusion
5th Report - Solving the SEND Crisis
Acknowledged
We welcome the Department’s focus on inclusive education; however, we are concerned about the absence of a Departmental definition of this and the subsequent lack of clarity about what ‘inclusive mainstream’ education looks like and means in practice for educators, education settings, pupils and families. We are also concerned that …
Government response. The government acknowledges the importance of inclusive education and outlines its 'Plan for Change,' including establishing an Expert Advisory Group for Inclusion, deploying RISE advisors, and incorporating an explicit focus on inclusion in Ofsted's new framework.
Department for Education
7
Conclusion
5th Report - Solving the SEND Crisis
Acknowledged
The SEND system is not delivering for children and young people or their families, with poor experiences and outcomes becoming the norm in many places across England. Rising need coupled with limited school resourcing, stretched local authority budgets and a mismatch between local authority responsibilities and their powers has resulted …
Government response. The government acknowledges the committee's report rightly highlights the deep-rooted issues within the SEND system. It states it is committed to reforming the system as part of its Plan for Change and is already taking action through investment in school …
Department for Education
17
Conclusion
5th Report - Solving the SEND Crisis
Acknowledged
Parents and carers must be actively and meaningfully involved in all processes that affect their child’s education, support, and overall wellbeing. This includes being fully informed and invited to participate in all relevant meetings where decisions about their child’s needs or provision are being discussed at the school and local …
Government response. The government acknowledges the importance of parental involvement and outlines engagement activities with stakeholders to shape reform proposals, followed by a formal consultation. However, it does not commit to providing independent advocacy, dedicated resourcing for local authorities, or a New …
Department for Education
19
Conclusion
5th Report - Solving the SEND Crisis
Acknowledged
To avoid causing undue alarm and to help rebuild confidence and trust in the system, parents and carers must be fully engaged and any reforms must be implemented gradually and in a carefully phased manner. New approaches should first be piloted through a pathfinder model, allowing for thorough testing in …
Government response. The government acknowledges the need for partnership and engagement to shape reform proposals, outlining specific activities and a formal consultation. However, the response does not commit to piloting new approaches via a pathfinder model or to implementing reforms gradually and …
Department for Education
26
Recommendation
5th Report - Solving the SEND Crisis
Acknowledged
To ensure accountability for inclusive practice, SEND expertise should be embedded within schools and multi-academy trust (MAT) governance structures, for example, by making it mandatory to appoint governors or trustees with specific responsibility for and relevant expertise (including lived experience) of SEND as we saw in Ontario. Without this, inclusive …
Government response. The government is committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, and created an Expert Advisory Group for Inclusion and a team of expert Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence (RISE) advisors to work with schools.
Department for Education
27
Conclusion
5th Report - Solving the SEND Crisis
Acknowledged
Tribunals are an important feature of the accountability system, allowing families to challenge local authorities’ decisions regarding their children’s support; however, they should only need to be used as a last resort. We are deeply concerned by the number of local authorities found to have failed to meet their statutory …
Government response. The government acknowledges that the SEND system does not work for too many families, agrees with prioritising partnership working, and highlights the new SEND inspection framework launched in January 2023 to improve outcomes and local authority accountability.
Department for Education
30
Conclusion
5th Report - Solving the SEND Crisis
Acknowledged
The limited engagement of health services in the SEND system stems from a lack of robust and enforceable accountability mechanisms. Despite being a critical enabler of positive educational outcomes for children with SEND, health services are not held to the same standards of responsibility as education providers. To deliver on …
Government response. The government acknowledges the importance of health and social care engagement and states it will give full consideration to the committee's recommendations for strengthening accountability frameworks, while also noting ongoing work to improve access to community health services and early …
Department for Education
31
Recommendation
5th Report - Solving the SEND Crisis
Acknowledged
There must be mandatory training for health commissioners on good practice in meeting the needs of children with SEND. (Recommendation, Paragraph 158)
Government response. The government is considering how to improve professional development for all teachers, including those teaching pupils with SEND, but commits to no specific action on mandatory training for health commissioners.
Department for Education
33
Conclusion
5th Report - Solving the SEND Crisis
Acknowledged
The Department for Education must significantly improve cross- departmental coordination with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England to establish clear, consistent accountability for SEND at the ICB level. Current arrangements are fragmented and lack clarity. Strengthening the role, authority, and visibility of the Senior Responsible Officer …
Government response. The government highlights ongoing close work with DHSC and NHS England to improve access to community health services and early interventions, and refers to the new SEND inspection framework (launched Jan 2023) as a mechanism to improve accountability and outcomes …
Department for Education
37
Conclusion
5th Report - Solving the SEND Crisis
Acknowledged
To address inconsistency in the delivery of early years provision and the Special Educational Needs Inclusion Fund (SENIF), the Department for Education must establish a set of national inclusivity requirements for early years settings. These requirements should be backed by increased, funding to ensure providers are able to deliver inclusive …
Government response. The government acknowledges the importance of early years SEND support and states it is working to embed inclusive practice and increase funding through existing strategies, but does not commit to establishing new national inclusivity requirements or reforming the Disability Access …
Department for Education
38
Conclusion
5th Report - Solving the SEND Crisis
Acknowledged
Best Start Family Hubs and the expansion of childcare provision present a valuable opportunity to engage with families earlier and identify SEND needs at the earliest possible stage. We welcome the announcement that every Best Start Family Hub will have a SENCO. However, SEND awareness is not currently sufficiently embedded …
Government response. The government acknowledges the importance of early identification and SEND awareness, detailing its ongoing 'Best Start in Life' strategy, including funding Best Start Family Hubs with trained professionals and continuing funding for early language interventions like the NELI program until …
Department for Education
47
Conclusion
5th Report - Solving the SEND Crisis
Acknowledged
We know that some young people in some areas will have a long-term need for home to school transport due to extremely limited public transport options in their local area or their individual needs. We are concerned about the impact that lack of statutory home to school transport for 16–19-year- …
Government response. The government acknowledges the report and highlights its commitment to reforming the SEND system to deliver excellent, inclusive education.
Department for Education
49
Conclusion
5th Report - Solving the SEND Crisis
Acknowledged
While the Department’s update to the Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework is a positive move, it needs to go further to adequately prepare teachers to support pupils with SEND. SEND is still not fully integrated across all training modules, and there is a clear lack of focus on …
Government response. The government acknowledges the need for teachers to be better prepared for SEND, stating that the updated Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework (ITTECF) introduced in September 2025 includes enhanced statements on adaptive teaching and SEND, and commits to …
Department for Education
53
Conclusion
5th Report - Solving the SEND Crisis
Acknowledged
Continuous professional development in SEND should not be viewed solely as a support mechanism for specialist SEND educators. When all teachers are trained to understand and respond to the needs of pupils with SEND, the entire workforce becomes more inclusive, adaptive, and confident in managing diverse classrooms. An essential skill …
Government response. The government acknowledges the importance of improving professional development for "all teachers" and highlights the ITTECF's enhanced SEND statements, aligning with the principle that all teachers need SEND training, but does not commit to making CPD continuous or mandatory for …
Department for Education
56
Conclusion
5th Report - Solving the SEND Crisis
Acknowledged
Strong leadership on SEND is essential to delivering effective and inclusive education. Often the bulk of responsibility for SEND inclusion falls to a single SENCO and this should not be the case. Evidence shows that when senior leadership prioritises inclusion, this commitment permeates throughout the school, positively influencing staff attitudes …
Government response. The government's response mentions the mandatory NPQ for SENCOs and a review of NPQ frameworks in 2025 to strengthen inclusive leadership practices, which aligns with the conclusion's emphasis on strong, strategic SEND leadership.
Department for Education
64
Conclusion
5th Report - Solving the SEND Crisis
Acknowledged
Many children with SEND and their families continue to have unsatisfactory experiences when navigating the SEND system, particularly in their interactions with local authority staff. These challenges are often rooted in a failure to work empathetically in partnership with parents and carers and demonstrate a limited understanding of the assessment …
Government response. The government acknowledges that the SEND system does not work for too many families and agrees on the importance of local authorities prioritising good partnership working, while also referencing the new SEND inspection framework.
Department for Education
65
Conclusion
5th Report - Solving the SEND Crisis
Acknowledged
Local authority staff require improved training on child development, SEND law, parent engagement and mediation, alongside changes in practice that strengthen accountability and foster more constructive relationships with parents and carers. This should include meaningful parental involvement at every stage of the decision-making process regarding a child’s needs and support. …
Government response. The government agrees on the importance of local authorities prioritising good partnership working with families, stating it will give full consideration to the committee's recommendations and referencing the new SEND inspection framework.
Department for Education
70
Conclusion
5th Report - Solving the SEND Crisis
Acknowledged
We have seen and heard evidence that delivering inclusive practice in education improves long term outcomes for children and young people with SEND which has wider benefits to the economy as well as costing less to deliver than expensive specialist placements. (Conclusion, Paragraph 253)
Government response. The government acknowledges the report and highlights its commitment to reforming the SEND system to deliver excellent, inclusive education.
Department for Education
74
Recommendation
5th Report - Solving the SEND Crisis
Acknowledged
The National Funding Formula must ensure that funding for SEND is both fair and sufficient to meet the needs of children and young people across the country. While some geographical variation is to be expected, this should reflect the prevalence and relative level of need in each area. The formula …
Government response. The government outlined an increase of £4.2 billion in schools and high needs funding, committed to supporting local authorities with SEND deficits until 2027–28, and allocated £740 million for high needs capital, stating these measures will help improve SEND outcomes.
Department for Education
78
Conclusion
5th Report - Solving the SEND Crisis
Acknowledged
The current failure to embed Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) as a shared priority across government departments is not just a policy oversight, it is a profound injustice to some of the most vulnerable children in our society. It is evident that SEND is not sufficiently seen as a …
Government response. The government acknowledges the need for shared working across education, health, and care services, describing ongoing collaboration to improve access to community health services and ensure allied health professionals are effectively deployed. They also mention a new SEND inspection framework …
Department for Education
79
Conclusion
5th Report - Solving the SEND Crisis
Acknowledged
SEND should be identified as a priority across the health system and ongoing NHS restructuring must be used as an opportunity to strengthen the role and accountability of health services in supporting children and young people with SEND. This includes ensuring that ICBs are fully engaged in local SEND systems, …
Government response. The government acknowledges the importance of partnership between education, health, and care services and describes ongoing collaboration to improve access to community health services. They mention a new SEND inspection framework covering LAs and ICBs, but do not commit to …
Department for Education
82
Conclusion
5th Report - Solving the SEND Crisis
Acknowledged
Guidance on the delegation of healthcare responsibilities within schools and multi-academy trusts remains weak. There is insufficient clarity on how and when healthcare tasks can be appropriately and safely assigned to school or multi-academy trust staff, what training and safeguards should accompany such delegation, and ultimately where responsibility lies between …
Government response. The government acknowledges the report and highlights its commitment to reforming the SEND system to deliver excellent, inclusive education.
Department for Education
86
Conclusion
5th Report - Solving the SEND Crisis
Acknowledged
If the Department for Education expands the use of resource bases to increase specialist provision within mainstream schools and multi- academy trusts, it must set out a detailed implementation plan. This plan should clearly specify how resource bases should be staffed, including required qualifications, expertise, and staff-to-pupil ratios to ensure …
Government response. The government notes that many mainstream settings already provide specialist provision through SEN units and resourced provision and states they would like to explore how to make these practices more widespread. However, they do not commit to setting out a …
Department for Education
87
Conclusion
5th Report - Solving the SEND Crisis
Acknowledged
The allocation of £740 million in high needs capital funding for 2025–26 is a welcome investment and reflects a growing recognition of the urgent need to expand and improve SEND provision. However, this funding should be seen as a starting point rather than a solution. One-off or short-term funding cycles …
Government response. The government acknowledges the important role of the £740 million high needs capital funding for 2025–26 as a core investment. They state they will provide more detail on their approach across the spending review period in due course, without explicitly …
Department for Education
89
Conclusion
5th Report - Solving the SEND Crisis
Acknowledged
We welcome the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, particularly the proposed reforms that give local authorities a greater role in key decision- making areas such as the establishment of new schools, oversight of admissions, and the placement of pupils. These changes represent a positive step toward restoring strategic oversight at …
Government response. The government acknowledges the report and highlights its commitment to reforming the SEND system to deliver excellent, inclusive education.
Department for Education
94
Conclusion
5th Report - Solving the SEND Crisis
Acknowledged
The data currently collected and available to the DfE on both mainstream and specialist SEND need is limited and inconsistent. Comprehensive data at the local, regional and national level is essential to assessing the sufficiency of capacity and determining funding allocations for education settings. (Conclusion, Paragraph 321)
Government response. The government thanks the committee for its recommendations, stating it will carefully consider them while engaging with stakeholders before publishing its SEND system plans in the forthcoming Schools White Paper.
Department for Education