8 November 2019 weekly update

Dear Colleagues

This week I have managed to get out of Sessions House several times and on Thursday travelled to Thanet for a visit to the Royal Harbour Academy in Ramsgate. During my visit I met some very enthusiastic Year 7 and 8 students who were happy to talk about the Academy and their favourite and not-so favourite subjects. My thanks to Simon Pullen and Kate Grieg for welcoming me to the school so that I could see the improvements and progress that the school is making.

House of Commons Education Select Committee Report on Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

On 23 October the report from the House of Commons Select Committee was released. This followed an inquiry into government reforms aimed at placing children and young people at the heart of the SEND system. It concluded that while the 2014 reforms had been ambitious, seeking to place young people at the heart of the system, the ambition was yet to be realised. The report stressed that the reforms had resulted in confusion and at times, unlawful practice.

Eight key recommendations were proposed as a series of measures to strengthen inspections, support parents going through the EHCP process and ensure that those responsible were held accountable when things went wrong:

1. Make CQC and Ofsted Local Area Inspection annual
2. Give Ombudsman more power over schools
3. Make Ofsted issue a separate judgement for school SEND provision
4. Review cost of forcing all schools to have a full-time SENCO
5. Let LAs open new Special schools
6. Appoint a neutral SEND coordinator
7. Make the Designated Medical Officer role statutory
8. Make LAs and CCGs jointly accountable for outcomes

A full copy of the report can be found on the Government website

Matt Dunkley CBE
Corporate Director
Children, Young People and Education