29/03/2022
Elizabeth Mc Garty
There’s a lot to absorb in the SEND Green Paper – and a lot to be concerned about. We’re still carefully reading the proposals and looking at how these fit with the current legal framework, and will produce a detailed analysis soon. In the meantime, a few things jump out:
▪️ Reference to local decision-making and 'local discretion', requiring national standards to fix. Local authorities may think they have discretion, but existing law is clear – that’s why local authorities lose so consistently at Tribunal. Applying the law should be priority, not creating new structures.
▪️ Assumption that increasing number of Tribunal appeals demonstrates parents’ ‘frustration’ with SEND system. No: it demonstrates unlawful decision-making by local authorities.
▪️ Proposed amendment to process for naming school in an EHC plan. This appears to be led by what already exists in local area rather than what child’s individual needs might be. By what method will local authorities produce tailored list of options – and how many options will there realistically be?
▪️ Making mediation mandatory and making it harder to appeal to Tribunal. Lots of problems with this. But if ministers want a less adversarial system, they need to find a way of making sure the law is followed in every area, for every child.
To add:
Thanks everyone so much for these comments – we are taking note of them all. IPSEA will be preparing a detailed response to the consultation on the proposals in the SEND green paper, and we also encourage you all to submit your own response so the Government knows what you think. The consultation runs until Fri 1 July, so there’s plenty of time. Details of how to respond can be found at the link below, and we will also be putting information about it on our website shortly.
https://consult.education.gov.uk/send-review-division/send-review-2022/
