Written evidence submitted by The National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT)

SFC0048

 

The NASUWT’s submission sets out the Union’s views on issues identified by the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee in its call for evidence for the Inquiry into support for children and young people with special educational needs.

 

The NASUWT’s evidence is informed directly by its serving teacher and headteacher members and also by the work of its representative committees and consultative structures, made up of practising teachers and school leaders.

 

Introduction

  1. The NASUWT welcomes the opportunity to submit evidence to the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee Inquiry into support for children and young people with special educational needs.
  2. As the Committee will be aware, including from the recent National Audit Office report into these matters, teachers and leaders continue to report that the special educational needs and disability (SEND) and alternative provision (AP) systems have reached a state of profound crisis.
  3. We recognise that the complex and deep-rooted nature of the causes of these problems means that they will require a long term strategy to enable children and young people with SEND, their families and the members of the workforce that teach and support them to get the support to which they are entitled. The aim of this strategy should be to ensure that not only are there sufficient resources in the system but also that structures are rebuilt so that resources are used efficiently and productively across the education, health and social care sectors.
  4. Significant though these difficulties are, we have identified a range of measures that could be implemented to place the system on a more secure and sustainable footing. One action that could be taken in the short-term would be to relieve some of the pressure on the over 80 local authorities that are subject to government intervention currently because of their high needs block deficits. These interventions, the Safety Valve (SV) programme for those authorities in the most difficulty and the Delivering Better Value (DBV) programme for those facing slightly less acute funding issues, are being used to drive through changes that are not always well planned and that may, in some respects, run counter to the roadmap established by the last government in its SEND and AP Green Paper.
  5. Steps should be taken to ensure that measures to reduce deficits through these programmes do not reduce the quality of current provision and are developed transparently and in full consultation with local stakeholders, including trade unions. We are increasingly concerned that as result of the pressures on some local authorities to reduce their deficits, illegal measures such as rationing access to Education, Health and Care Plans or forcing children with complex needs to be educated in mainstream settings without the capacity, expertise or resources to support them are becoming increasingly prevalent.
  6. The plans set out in the last government’s SEND and AP Green Paper and subsequent improvement plan do not address many of the core issues and challenges that will lead to a more inclusive and sustainable education system. In particular, the Change Programme which was established to test and take forward plans set out in the SEND and AP Improvement Plan is extremely problematic. The programme has lacked transparency. Also, there has been little or no opportunity for organisations not directly involved in the programme to provide evidence about issues or to influence decision-making. We made a comprehensive submission to the public consultation on the Green Paper that we commend as an accurate and objective assessment of the scale of the challenges the system faces and the reasons for them.[1]
  7. We suggest that evidence from this programme is used to consider the strengths and weaknesses in the current SEND system and that there needs to be a more honest evaluation of the reforms that are needed to make mainstream education more inclusive, and to ensure that services that support learners who have SEND are appropriately resourced and are able work together effectively. There is a need for greater transparency going forward. There is also a need for wider engagement and consultation about SEND reforms at all stages of the reform process. We stress the need for action at ministerial level to secure the commitment and action needed to ensure that health services fulfil their responsibilities and work with education services to meet the needs of children and young people who have SEND.
  8. No one with a stake in the success of the SEND system is under any illusion about the scale of these challenges. Addressing them will require a concerted and collaborative effort across government and beyond to to re-establish a SEND and AP system that meets the needs of some of the most vulnerable children and young people in society.

November 2024 

 

 

 

[1] Available at: (https://www.nasuwt.org.uk/static/8a434752-c16e-4721-b5fce3a4a8d70c3c/Consultation-Response-DfE-SEND-Review-and-Alternative-Provision-Green-Paper.pdf), accessed on 11.11.24.