The Government has again delayed long-awaited reforms to the system of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) until 2026, amid fears of a rebellion by Labour backbenchers.
The Schools White Paper, which was due in the coming weeks, has been pushed back to “early in the new year”, the Education Secretary has said.
It is understood that plans for the shake-up were originally due to be published in the spring, but were pushed back to the autumn over Number 10 fears they could spark a fresh Labour rebellion.
Bridget Phillipson said delaying the reforms, which are expected to be announced in January, gives more time to “test policy options” with families, teachers and other key stakeholders via “listening sessions” across the country and fortnightly ministerial meetings with key groups.
It comes after Labour MPs told The i Paper that the Government could be on a collision course with backbenchers over reforms that could cut back support for vulnerable children.
They said they had been gearing up to vote against any changes that “take away services” or “reduce support, financial or otherwise” for SEND pupils.
A Government source said the white paper had been delayed again because it “simply wasn’t ready in time”.
Ministers were also concerned that releasing the white paper close to next month’s budget could make the reforms appear motivated by cost-cutting, according to The Guardian.
Controversial SEND reforms
It is understood that ministers are looking at phasing out individual EHCPs in mainstream schools.
An Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) is a legal document that guarantees a certain level of support in schools for children with special needs and council funding. Parents fear that narrowing which children get access to them would mean fewer children would have a legal entitlement to support.
Ministers have said they want to move towards a SEND system where “most needs” are met within mainstream schools rather than special schools.
Last week, Phillipson told The i Paper that teachers, not councils, will take a greater role in assessing SEND children, but insisted that “formal assessment processes” would still take place.
The plans come against a backdrop of the rapidly escalating costs, with the National Audit Office (NAO) warning that the current system is “financially unsustainable”.
Announcing the white paper delay in a letter to the chair of the education select committee, Helen Hayes, Phillipson said: “To help us deliver the most effective set of reforms we can, I have taken the decision to have a further period of co-creation, testing our proposals with the people who matter most in this reform – the families – alongside teachers and other experts.
“We will bring forward a full Schools White Paper early in the new year, underpinned by our belief that high standards and inclusion are two sides of the same coin.”
Families stuck in limbo
Hayes said it is “vital that the voices of children and families are at the heart of the upcoming white paper and that the process of reform rebuilds trust and confidence in the system”.
“I hope to see my committee’s strong set of evidence-based recommendations to fix the broken SEND system at the centre of the government’s reforms when they are announced in January, and that the government will then swiftly move to implement reform so that children with SEND and their families are able to access the high quality education and support they are entitled to, wherever they live in the country.”
Campaigners criticised the further delay as it would leave families in prolonged uncertainty.
“Delay to the white paper is deeply frustrating for parents who need an end to the uncertainty swirling around SEND provision when their lives are complex enough,” said Anna Bird, chair of the Disabled Children’s Partnership.
“However it is important that the Government takes time to make the right decisions.”
Jolanta Lasota, chief executive of Ambitious about Autism, said the delay means families are still “in limbo”.
“For months, autistic children and young people and their families have faced uncertainty and fear about whether their rights would be weakened,” she said.
“If the Government’s proposals were as rumoured, then re-thinking them is the right decision, but the delay means many families are still in limbo.”
The decision to delay was described as “disappointing” by Councillor Amanda Hopgood, chair of the Local Government Association’s Children, Young People and Families Committee.
“We have been urging the Government to set out its reforms of the SEND system, and it should do this at the earliest opportunity.
“The system is failing children and families, while councils have been pushed to the brink by rising high needs deficits. Urgent reform is needed.”
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