Government issues draft legislation on SEN support

The Government has published draft legislation aimed at improving the support to children and young people with special educational needs.

The provisions – announced via a written ministerial statement issued by outgoing junior minister Sarah Teather earlier this week – include:

• The new duty for joint commissioning requiring local authorities and health bodies to take joint responsibility for providing services;
• A requirement on local authorities to publish a local offer of services for disabled children and young people and those with SEN;
• New protections for young people aged 16-25 in further education “and a stronger focus on preparing them for adulthood”;
• An entitlement for parents and young people, for the first time, to have a personal budget;
• Imposing on further education colleges as well as all academies, including Free Schools, the same duties that maintained schools have to safeguard the education of children and young people with SEN. The provisions on academies reflect the requirements currently in the majority of funding arrangements signed since the Academies Act 2010 came into force.

Proposals for reform in this area were set out in March 2011 in the SEN and disability green paper Support and Aspiration. They were subsequently covered in the Next Steps document published in May 2012.

The changes have been tested in 20 pathfinder areas, covering 31 local authorities and health partners.

On the provisions relating to academies and FECs, the DfE said: “Placing these requirements on the face of the legislation will give greater clarity to academies, parents and young people and will ensure further education colleges face the same requirements for the first time.”

The Education Select Committee has been asked to consider carrying out pre-legislative scrutiny on the draft provisions.

Teather said: “We must do all we can to ensure that our schools give those with special educational needs and disabilities the best possible start in life. Too many parents have faced bureaucratic barriers.

“We are making it easier for parents to access help for their children. And we will empower parents and young people, giving them greater control over the services they receive, by putting them in charge of personal budgets.”

The draft legislation can be viewed here.