We welcome the ambition behind the proposals that the government has set out in today’s white paper and the SEND reform proposals Putting Children and Young People First. They are based on sound principles of early intervention, stronger local provision, fair allocation of resources, effective evidence-based implementation, and shared delivery of a more inclusive system. It is reassuring that the government has recognised that their proposed reforms cannot be achieved without significant investment, and that a long-term plan with protections for children and young people currently in the system – rather than a quick fix – is what is needed.
From the outset, we have supported the government’s focus on strengthening universal provision and support for children and young people in mainstream schools and colleges. We have also been urging them to acknowledge that specialist settings, including specialist further education (FE) colleges, have a role to play both in supporting mainstream settings and in providing placements where children and young people rely on their specialised resources, facilities, environment and expertise in order to thrive in education. It is pleasing therefore to see specialist settings being recognised in the white paper as a critical part of an inclusive education system. We look forward to further developing the work we already do through our SEND Centre for Excellence to share more expertise between specialist and mainstream FE settings.
We had hoped to see greater recognition of the different context for schools and FE when it comes to inclusion. Given that in FE the vast majority of young people with SEND are already in mainstream settings, there is no need for a fundamental rebalancing of provision between specialist and general FE colleges. Measures designed to support a shift from specialist to mainstream for children in schools, such as the tiered system of support, thresholds of “complexity”, and devolved decision-making and funding must be carefully introduced if they are not to have a negative impact on under-funded post-16 specialist provision, or worse still deny access to specialist college placements for young people who really need them.
Clare Howard, Chief Executive of Natspec said:
“We support the government’s ambition to reform the SEND system and build a more inclusive approach. And it’s good to see government recognising that specialist FE colleges have a role to play in that. As we get down into the detail, however, it will be essential that the reforms recognise the distinct context of FE and address the longstanding funding inequities. Critically, we need to ensure that young people aged 16 to 25 have access to high quality provision, including specialist placements, to meet their individual needs. It would not be helpful to see a new set of barriers to access emerging for this age group, as an unintended consequence of reforms designed to improve the situation for children in schools.”
We look forward to working with the Department for Education to make sure that the reforms reflect the realities of further education and deliver better long-term outcomes for young people with SEND. We are particularly keen to collaborate on the design of the proposed ‘Specialist Provision Packages’ to ensure that they effectively capture the support needs of young people on FE programmes as they prepare for employment, higher education or more independent adult lives.