How we’re amplifying the voices of disabled children with complex needs in education reforms

Written by Amelia Canning on

Last week, we went to the Department for Education to talk to the Minister for School Standards about complex needs ahead of the upcoming SEND reforms.

Kate Lawson (Head of Policy, Public Affairs and Research), Becky Paddock (parent) & Amelia Canning (Policy, Public Affairs and Research Advisor) stood outside the Department for Education

What are the SEND reforms?

This year, the government will be publishing a document that outlines their proposed reforms to the SEND system.

The Government has been hosting listening events across the UK to hear the voices of parents, carers, teachers, and the wider sector share their views.

But we wanted to make sure the Minister understood the unique barriers disabled children with complex needs face when accessing education.

What happened in the meeting?

Alongside several other charities as part of the Disabled Children’s Partnership, we spoke to the Minister covering the following topics:

  • Making sure health and social care bodies work more closely with schools, increasing legal requirements
  • The challenges in recruiting and retaining specialist teachers and other school staff
  • Ensuring health and care support are in place, regardless of school setting
  • The challenges disabled children with complex needs face during transitions between school settings, and into social care

We were also joined by inspirational Sense storytellers Leanne and Becky, who did an amazing job and really helped illustrate to the Minister the barriers they face daily in accessing education for their children.

The meeting went really well, and the Minister seemed very engaged with what we had said, asking follow-up questions and taking an active interest in stories and other examples of best practice from colleagues.

What will happen next?

We hope to organise further meetings with the Minister going forward, involving other Ministers from across government.

We are also following up with the Minister for School Standards with a paper outlining what we discussed, to help continue this relationship.

This is the first time Sense has been able to meet with Minister Gould, and we hope to continue this positive relationship to be able to influence the SEND reforms further.

A young boy wearing glasses smiles at the camera next to his mum, who has blonde hair and is wearing a grey t-shirt

A critical moment for SEND

The Government is setting out its plans to reform the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system in England.

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