Select committee: Education Committee
Conclusion 53
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 ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
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 set in the modern classroom, this not only improves outcomes for pupils with SEND but also supports teacher resilience and wellbeing, enhancing the learning 166 experience for all students by fostering a more empathetic, dynamic and flexible teaching environment. We have seen evidence that deploying this approach reduces the need for EHC plans. (Conclusion, Paragraph 210)
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.