Select committee: Education Committee
Recommendation 43
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 Government must introduce a three-route model for those who have not attained grade 4 GCSE in maths and/or English based on their level of attainment at age 16 and their chosen post-16 qualification/employment pathway: • Students who, based on their GCSE results at age 16 and prior attainment, have a realistic prospect of achieving grade 4 in maths and/or English should be supported to work towards those qualifications. • Vocational courses of study, for which the English and maths content required can be easily identified, should have that content built into the curriculum. Students taking courses with embedded English and maths content which have been rigorously quality assured could then, in consultation with employers, be considered for exemption from the requirement to re-sit English and maths GCSE. • Students who, based on past performance, are very unlikely to attain grade 4 in maths and/or English despite multiple resits and who would benefit from pursuing a functional skills qualification in maths and/or English—for example, focused on financial literacy, debt and interest and household budgeting—should be supported to achieve a pass in that form of qualification. (Recommendation, Paragraph 187)
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.