SEND Green Paper: NDTi's Response to the Consultation Questions

Background Information

As a way of NDTi capturing thoughts and ideas to respond to the Green Paper consultation, we held an event in June 2022 with colleagues who attended NDTi’s Inclusive Education Festival which was held in 2021.

Our response to the Green Paper has therefore been co-designed by those currently working across the sector who are particularly interested in looking at things from an inclusion and children’s rights perspective.

NDTi strongly supports the vision of the Green Paper and agree that children and young people should be able to access the support they need in their local mainstream setting without bureaucratic processes, or the need for an EHCP (education, health and care plan) or a placement in special or alternative provision. They should have their needs identified promptly, with appropriate support put in place at the earliest opportunity.

We strongly support the ambition – right support, right place, right time.

NDTi believes that all children and young people with SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) should be able to attend their local school alongside their brothers, sisters, and cousins, where this is their and their family's wish. We believe that children and young people with SEND have so much to offer in their local communities, and by not supporting this to happen we are not only taking away their rights but also denying their non-disabled peers the opportunity to learn from and celebrate the richness that a diverse community brings.

NDTi does not believe that the Green Paper properly addresses the current issues and challenges that children and young people with SEND and their families face. Despite the Green Paper sharing a vision for inclusion in mainstream, there has been significant investment in special school provision over the past few years.

The Green Paper sets out a new system that continues to create an adversarial “them and us” divide between parents and carers and the local authority (and therefore children and young people), rather than considering how to repair relationships and provide a working together approach.

Policies, systems, and structures can only work well if values are shared across all partners, and ambitions for children and young people with SEND are only realised if the aspiration for success is believed by all parties.

Our full response to the consultation questions can be seen here.

Acronyms

The following acronyms have been used in our consultation response:

• EHC Plan or EHCP - education, health and care plan
• CYP - children and young people
• PfA - preparing for adulthood
• SEND - special education needs and disabilities
• CPD - continuing professional development
• AP - alternative provision
• UN - The United Nations
• UNCRC - The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

Useful Links

• SEND Review – the full Green Paper
• Easy Read SEND Review
• A Guide for Children & Young People