SEND Inquiry – Have your say!

SEND – A New Inquiry
The Government Education Committee has launched an inquiry into support for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

What is the SEND System?
In 2014, the Government introduced changes to the SEND system, with the intention of offering simpler, improved and consistent help for children and young people with SEND. The Government claimed these changes would give families greater choice in decisions.

Social injustice in education
There are many issues with how the changes have been implemented by Local Authorities and that some children and young people with genetic conditions like Alström Syndrome, are not receiving the right support in the right place at the right time. At the launch of the Inquiry on 18th April 2018 the Rt Hon Robert Halfon MP, Chair of the Education Committee said: “There are rising concerns about the quality and access to SEN provision which the Committee will want to explore in this inquiry. The Committee’s current inquiry into alternative provision has heard considerable evidence that children with special needs are disproportionally excluded from school……. we’ve also heard that with young people with SEN have faced significant barriers in accessing apprenticeships”.

What is being done?
The Government, through the Education Select Committee, has now launched an Inquiry to review the outcomes of these reforms, how they have been implemented and what impact they are having in meeting the challenges faced by children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

Call for written evidence – Have your say!
ASUK has joined together with The Prader-Willi Association and other patient organisations and support groups to gather the views of our young people and their families. If you would like to help us with this by contributing we would be very grateful, all you need to do is tell us about your experiences of the SEND system by completing a quick questionnaire which can be accessed HERE. We will compile all the questionnaire responses and submit to the committee. We need to do this by Thursday 14th June if we want our views to be heard!

The inquiry wants us to focus on your experiences of:
• Assessment of and support for children and young people with SEND
• The change from statements of Special Educational Needs and Learning Disability Assessments to Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP’s)
• The level and distribution of funding for SEND provision
• The roles of and co-operation between education, health and care sectors-how are they working together?
• Provision for 19 -25 year olds including support for independent living; transition to adult services; and access to education, apprenticeships and work.

Would you like more information?
Click HERE for an informative video (in BSL) explaining the inquiry in a little more detail. Or HERE for full details on the Parliament UK website.

Thank you in advance from us all at ASUK, we will keep you informed with news on progress of the inquiry and as always if you have any queries or would like to discuss any of the above – FEEL FREE TO CALL US! 😊
Contact details:
Email: Liz.loughery@alstrom.org.uk
Telephone: 07517 278 946