One of the concerns consistently raised with me by local teachers has been over special needs education (SEND) provision, the pressures that this can place upon school budgets and the speed at which SEND assessments can be undertaken. These concerns are often shared by parents of children with special educational needs. I have fed those concerns into government via meetings with ministers and helped secure an additional £250 million for SEND just before Christmas.

I was very pleased to receive news this week that the London Borough of Havering and Nelmes Primary School will now be adding to the school a 12-place provision for special educational needs pupils between 4 and 11 with Autistic Spectrum Disorder and Speech, Language & Communication Needs.

For your information, the decision details and the accompanying documents can be viewed by clicking here.

The government understands that more needs to be done, however, so I have written to local teachers this week to make them aware of a consultation underway into SEND funding arrangements and alternative provision. The call for evidence closes on 31 July, and this might also be of interest to others who are affected by these issues, whether parents, carers or council officers involved in this work.

INFORMATION ABOUT SEND AND ALTERNATIVE PROVISION CONSULTATION

From: BRERETON, Jack B
Subject: DfE Call for Evidence: SEND and Alternative Provision

Dear Colleague,

As you will be aware the call for evidence on the funding arrangements for young people with SEND and those who need alternative provision (AP) closes on Wednesday 31st July 2019.

This call for evidence is an invitation to consider other aspects of the funding arrangements that:

• could be changed to help local authorities, schools, colleges and other providers in their support for young people with SEND, those requiring alternative provision (AP) and those at risk of exclusion from school, and
• may not be helping us get the most value from the resources available.

The Secretary of State and Ministerial team would be grateful if you might reach out and pass this on to your teachers please. The link to the consultation can be found below:

https://consult.education.gov.uk/funding-policy-unit/funding-for-send-and-those-who-need-ap-call-for-ev/

Yours,

Jack

Jack Brereton MP

PPS to the Department for Education