New steering group to deliver SEND review ‘at pace’
The government is aiming to finally publish the long awaited SEND review, and has appointed a new steering group to help deliver it ‘at pace’. The group, which first met on 28 September this year, will ‘advise on proposals to be set out in a SEND green paper to be published in the first three months of 2022’ according to the Department for Education (DfE).
The membership of the group, which is drawn from organisations representing a range of sectors and interests, includes the children’s commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza as well as Christine Lenehan, director of the Council for Disabled Children. Also on the group are Tina Emery and Mrunal Sisodia, co-chairs of the National Network of Parent Carer Forums. The group has 23 members, of whom 12 are civil servants and 10 represent charity/third sector organisations. Mark Vickers, CEO of Olive Academies, appears to be the only member of the group who works directly in schools.
Recently appointed children and families minister Will Quince referenced the group as he penned an open letter to the parents and carers of children and young people with SEND. In the letter he says he is ‘wholeheartedly committed’ to the SEND review, describing it as ‘vital work’. The SEND review was initiated in September 2019 by then education secretary Gavin Williamson, but the government have subsequently missed three separate self-imposed deadlines for its publication. In his letter Mr Quince had the following to say about the delay: ‘The Review has been delayed, in part due to the pandemic which has intensified some of the issues in the system, and we have needed time to reflect on those. We also wanted to do justice to the huge amount of input we have received and take time to check back with people that we had properly understood what they were telling us. I agree improvements are needed – and overdue.’
Mr Quince said he would prefer not to offer up any specific details of proposals ahead of the review’s publication, saying it would be more helpful for people to ‘see them all together, so that they can make an informed judgement about whether they will lead to the lasting changes we all want to see.’ However he did say that it would be important for the proposals to ‘offer a way forward to reduce local variation’. He also identified other priorities for the review, including improving early intervention, making clearer the support and services everyone should be able to expect, as well as having funding and accountability systems in place to support them. The minister also noted that any proposals ‘must align with other improvement work currently underway, such as the care review’.
Will Quince open letter: https://tinyurl.com/nc4fmfn4
SEND review steering group details: https://tinyurl.com/3jjdmkva