The government has announced a £4bn package for improving services for children with special educational needs and disabilities ahead of the upcoming schools white paper.
As part of this fund, over £200m will go towards family hubs to fund a dedicated Send “outreach and support offer” and a further £200m to “ensure all local authorities can transform how they operate in line with our reforms while maintaining current Send services”.
Furthermore the government has pledged that “every council” working with integrated care boards will “commission local professionals” such as educational psychology, occupational therapy and speech and language therapy.
The ambition is that there will be “experts at hand” to ensure the support is “routinely available in every area, whether or not children have an EHCP (education, health and care plan)”.
On top of this, the government has pledged over £3.7bn for the creation of over 60,000 new schools places for children with Send, of which 10,000 places have already been delivered.
Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said these plans should “mean no more ‘one size fits all’ system that only serves children who fit the mould” but instead “tailored support built around child’s individual needs, available on their doorstop”.
He said: “I’ve heard first hand the struggles and exhaustion faced by too many parents who feel they have to fight the system to get their child the support they need.
“But getting the right support should never be a battle – it should be a given.”
Education secretary Bridget Phillipson said that the government is “fiercely ambitious for children and young people with Send” and they “deserve a system that lifts them up, and that puts no limit on what they can go on and achieve”.
The white paper is expected to be published later today.
