Select committee: Education Committee
Recommendation 4
5th Report - Solving the SEND Crisis
Published 18 Sep 2025
Addressed to Department for Education
Education Committee Solving the SEND Crisis All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
The UK is a signatory member of the UNCRPD (UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities) since 2008. It would be helpful in developing any definition of inclusive education for the Department for Education to draw on the principles and substantive materials in relevant articles of this Convention. This should include Article 24 on education, Article 25 on health and others, for example, Article 30 on participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport. It may also be helpful for the Government to consider the UN general comment number 4 on Article 24 - the right to inclusive education, as well as the UNICEF report (2017) expanding on these issues in practice. (Recommendation, Paragraph 37)
From: Education Committee, 5th Report - Solving the SEND Crisis (HC 492), 18 September 2025
Government response
1st Special Report – Solving the SEND crisis: Government Response
The government responded to the whole report on 17 June 2026 (deadline 18 November 2025).
7th Special Report - Solving the SEND Crisis: Government Response
Published 11 December 2025.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government describes its response as "deliberately high-level", says it will "carefully consider" the Committee's recommendations, and says further detail on SEND reform will come in the Schools White Paper "early in the new year".
- On redress, it says it "agree[s] with the Committee" that local authorities and education settings should prioritise good partnership working with families, and retains the SEND Tribunal as an "important legal backstop".
- On the Tribunal's non-binding decisions on health and social care appeals, it says it will "give full consideration" to the Committee's recommendations.
- On workforce, it commits to a "full review" of the delivery of the Early Career Teacher Entitlement, including the ITTECF content, in 2027.
- On funding, it says it will extend the Statutory Override "until the end of 2027–28" and will set out further details on support for local authorities with deficits through the upcoming Local Government Finance Settlement.