Source · Select Committees · Education Committee
Recommendation 16
16
Accepted
Meaningful parental involvement is crucial for successful SEND system outcomes and trust
Conclusion
Parents and carers of children and young people with SEND often feel excluded from the processes that affect their children’s education and support. However, meaningful and collaborative parental involvement is essential to the success of the SEND system. When parents and carers are actively engaged in the planning, decision-making, and delivery of support, both satisfaction and outcomes improve significantly. Engagement fosters greater trust, transparency, and confidence in the system, and helps build constructive, collaborative relationships between families, professionals, support and advice services including SENDIASS. Ensuring parents and carers are treated as equal partners in any process must be a fundamental feature of any reformed SEND system. (Conclusion, Paragraph 101)
Government Response Summary
The government shares the view on the importance of parental involvement and outlines plans for extensive engagement through a Ministerial development group, regional and online sessions, and ministerial roundtables. This engagement will inform future reforms and will be followed by a formal consultation after a White Paper publication.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
Shared. Education, health and care services should work in partnership with one another, local government, families, teachers, experts and representative bodies to deliver better experiences and outcomes for all our children. The Ministerial team and I are continuing to listen closely to families, teachers and experts, as we put together plans to transform outcomes for every child with SEND. Engagement across our stakeholder groups, from children and young people with lived experiences and their families, to experts and charities, allows us to draw on diverse expertise and experiences. Our engagement will centre around 3 core activity strands: SEND Ministerial development group (to meet between now and the end of January to share insight and help shape reform proposals); Regional and online engagement sessions (from early next month, open to everyone); and Ministerial roundtables. The insights and lived experiences shared during these engagement opportunities will be vital in ensuring that our proposals effectively deliver meaningful reforms for families. We will also continue engagement as part of a formal consultation following the White Paper publication, and the responses received will be carefully considered in shaping the reforms.