SEND News
- Written by: Lindsey Rousseau
The Department for Education has recently launched a public consultation on the revised use of reasonable force and other restrictive interventions guidance.
The guidance aims to help schools proactively minimise the need to use reasonable force and other restrictive interventions through early support, prevention and de-escalation strategies. It also includes new statutory guidance for recording and reporting each significant incident where a member of staff uses reasonable force on a pupil.
They are seeking views from the sector on the proposed revisions to the guidance to ensure it is fit for purpose. The consultation runs until 29 April 2025 and can be accessed here: Use of reasonable force and other restrictive interventions guidance: proposed amendments - GOV.UK.
- Written by: Lindsey Rousseau
The Department for Education and the Council for Disabled Children have just published two sets of guidance to support school governing boards in understanding their role and responsibilities in relation to children and young people with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities and empowering them to hold their schools to account.
SEN and disability duties: guidance for school governing boards
This guidance from the Department for Education provides a high level summary of the expectations of boards in relation to disability and SEN. It includes a checklist for governors/trustees and suggestions about how to use school performance data and build an evidence base to underpin its strategic oversight.
Equality Act 2010 and disabled pupils: A guide for governors and trustees
The Council for Disabled Children guide which was commissioned by the Department, focuses in more detail on the Equality Act duties to disabled pupils. It sets out the individually owed duties and the more strategic duties; and again it promotes a discussion about the evidence that governing boards need in order to understand how well the duties are being met in their school.
To illustrate how the duties work in practice, the guide uses examples from schools and from case law where claims of disability discrimination have gone to the Tribunal. At the back of the guide is a set of checkpoints that schools can use to inform a discussion between senior leaders and their governing body or board of trustees.
The new guide is a companion publication to the 2022 Disabled Children and the Equality Act 2010: What teachers need to know and what schools need to do which offers teachers more detailed practical guidance on meeting the duties to disabled pupils.
- Written by: Lindsey Rousseau
Following the publication of the government's Disabled Students’ Allowance’s Non-Medical Help call for evidence in April 2024, they have today shared the findings:
https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/non-medical-support-for-disabled-students-in-higher-education
The DSA team thank NatSIP partners for their participation and for promoting the call for evidence, which has enabled them to continue to develop their understanding of the non-medical help system. They will use these findings to inform any next steps.
- Written by: Lindsey Rousseau
The DfE has today published new guidance for school governing boards on SEN and Disability.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sen-and-disability-duties-guidance-for-school-governing-boards/special-educational-needs-sen-and-disabilities-guidance-for-school-governing-boards
- Written by: Lindsey Rousseau
New school statistics for England have been published today along with EHCP SENII figures for all ages.
https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england
and for Education Health and Care Plans;
- Written by: Ian Noon
Please see information below published today on the new Department for Education guidance on mobiles phones.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mobile-phones-in-schools
The guidance essentially advises schools to develop a policy to prohibit the use of mobiles phones in schools. The guidance is non-statutory.
The guidance helpfully reminds schools of the duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled pupils and highlights that some pupils may require access to mobile phones for reasons relating to their disability.
- Written by: Lindsey Rousseau
On the occasion of her retirement as CEO of the Council for Disabled Children, Dame Christine Lenehan delivered a Valedictory lecture to guests at an event on Monday evening in Westminster.
A video is available here.
National Children's Bureau CEO, Anna Feuchtwang, alluded in her opening remarks to the National Children’s Bureau’s 60th anniversary, and the interactive timeline of NCB’s work over the last 60 years that they have produced. You can access the interactive timeline here.
You may also be interested in the interview that Christine did with Woman’s Hour on the day of her speech. You can access that here. The feature highlighted a Disabled Children’s Partnership report on the challenges facing the SEND tribunal system.
- Written by: Brian Lamb
School census figures have been published today:
https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england
Headlines are;
Over 1.5 million pupils in England have special educational needs (SEN)
An increase of 87,000 from 2022. Both the number of pupils with an education, health and care (EHC plan) and the number of pupils with SEN support have increased:
- The percentage of pupils with an EHC plan has increased to 4.3%, from 4.0% in 2022.
- The percentage of pupils with SEN but no EHC plan (SEN support) has increased to 13.0%, from 12.6% in 2022.
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