The Government is investigating how many schools are not inclusive enough to accommodate children with SEND, the Children's Secretary has revealed.
david johnston said school week While he doesn't believe non-inclusive schools are a “widespread problem,” lawmakers have raised the case with him that “certain schools in their area may not be as inclusive as they think.”
He said the department was “looking into the extent to which this is happening, why it is happening and whether any changes are needed to achieve results.”
Johnston added: “We are creating a lot more special schools for children who need them, but ultimately the vast majority of children with SEN go to mainstream schools. And it’s important that these mainstream schools meet their needs.”
He told the Confederation of School Trusts' SEND and Inclusion Summit: “I'm seeing cases where someone says to me, 'David there's a school in my area where the standards for SEN children are that high and that's not the case'.” We have no children with EHCP, they all go to different schools and we have just received an outstanding grade from Ofsted.
“We’re looking at those things, and I don’t think we should be comprehensive in making those judgments.”
Ofsted's chief inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver, has revealed how Ofsted will step up its scrutiny of schools accused of “putting off” SEND in favor of school applications. Johnston said he also spoke to Oliver about this.
Excluding ‘inconvenient’
The government's SEND and alternative provision reforms currently being trialled are based on mainstream schools becoming more inclusive and placing greater emphasis on identifying need early.
But Ms Johnston said she was “concerned” when she heard about schools in the area that had “a lot of children with SEN” and “there doesn't seem to be anyone on the EHCP at this school, for example”. And this is at the core of what we are trying to achieve.”
He had an “uncomfortable” conversation with a parent helpline. [age] 5, 6 and 7 have been permanently excluded.”
“I'm not denying the fact that children at a young age can exhibit really challenging behavior,” said Johnston, “but my personal opinion is that it's pretty odd to exclude children at that age. I'm uncomfortable with that.”
“We are looking at the department to see exactly what is happening. Because the whole thrust of our education reform is… Because I trust the headmaster that I shouldn't sit in Whitehall and say, 'Right, this is what you need to do.'
“But we need every school to have a truly inclusive place on their website.”
all school week Last year's survey looked at inclusiveness in mainstream schools. Basic data on how many EHCP students a school has can be problematic. This is because lower numbers may mean that schools provide early support and do not require a statutory plan.
Advocate for accountability measures
Mr Johnston was asked by an audience member what he described as “disincentives” in the system for schools and trusts to be inclusive.
He said: “We want to see exactly what is happening in schools” but “I don’t think this can be blamed on Ofsted or league tables or anything like that.”
“I will absolutely defend Ofsted inspections and league tables and the performance measures we have in place. In part… because this was so important in improving the educational attainment of underprivileged children.
“And there are those who say scrap it, scrap exams, scrap league tables, scrap Ofsted judgments. So I don’t attribute it to that, but I think something is happening nonetheless.”
This week Bury, one of the first safety valve councils, was criticized by inspectors for its “failing” SEND services. Under the plan, parliament would agree to sweeping reforms in return for additional government cash.
questioner school week As for whether this is a sign that the program isn't working, Johnston said he has “confidence” in the plan.
“We think the safety valve program really works. Clearly, this is a long-term program that will take time to change. In the case of Bury in particular, they have actually very recently revised their plans with us. This is also the new Ofsted inspection framework.”
Johnston also said the department would “have more to say” about new national standards for SEND, which it plans to propose “in the coming weeks”.
Last week it was revealed that the government's SEND reform pilot, called the Transformation Programme, is nine months behind schedule.
“We’re making a lot of good progress,” Johnston added. “We are working on how quickly local authorities are delivering change, but some local authorities are progressing on time with the reforms we are pushing for and we are putting pressure on others to ensure they deliver everything we have asked for. there is.”