On Monday, 23rd February the Government’s highly anticipated special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms were announced in Parliament.

We now know that Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) will be reserved for children with the most complex needs. Many other children will receive new “individual support plans”, which do not carry the same legal protections as EHCPs. Councils will have greater responsibility for school placements, while mainstream schools will be expected to provide inclusive support for the majority of SEND children. £4 billion of funding has been announced over three years to support these reforms, barely enough to cover one part time teaching assistant per primary school and two per secondary school.

Yet, despite the Government’s plans being set out in a 300-page white paper, there is still much we do not know. For example, we do not know exactly how children will qualify for an EHCP in the future and no clear eligibility criteria for the so-called specialist provision has been set out. Nor do we know how the Government will fill its £6 billion SEND black hole, brought about by cancelling the debt Local Authorities have accrued with no indication of how. Parents deserve certainty, clarity, and stronger support on an issue so central to their children’s development, with cast-iron guarantees that no child currently receiving support will lose it.

Locally, SEND pressures are acute, with assessment reaching timescales of 52 weeks. I have met with many local families struggling with the SEND system and am currently supporting 31 individual SEND cases which clearly reflect the scale of the challenge facing families in South West Devon. SEND support desperately needs reforming, a principle which we, as Conservatives, support, but it must be done in a thoughtful and balanced way that is clearly communicated to parents.

After the Secretary of State made her SEND announcements in the House of Commons, I asked how her plans for schools to play a much greater role in determining pupils’ support needs would avoid pitting parents and schools against one another in their shared pursuit of the best outcomes for local children and young people. Too often relationships between schools and parents fighting for their children are tense and these SEND reforms must not exacerbate this. The Minister recognised this and set out the Government’s expectations that schools should be engaging with parents. The white paper includes plans to introduce a new pupil engagement

framework shaped by children, parents and schools; set clear minimum expectations for home-to-school partnerships; strengthen attendance and behaviour support; and give parents a rounded picture of their child’s education, using school profiles to present the latest information about schools in one place. I will be watching how this develops closely.

I will also be pressing for clarity on funding, safeguards and parental rights, and I will continue to stand up for families who rely on enforceable support for their children.

In order to help shape my contributions in Parliament as these SEND reforms progress, I want to hear directly from you. If you have a child with SEND or you are a parent, carer, teacher or family member supporting someone, please consider taking a few minutes to complete my survey. Your experiences will be incredibly important as the Government’s plans are brought forward. Please share your views here: www.rebecca-smith.org.uk/news/rebecca-launches-survey-hear-residents-send-support-and-reforms